Belgian cyclist Evenepoel wins 2022 Vuelta a Espana

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team's Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel won the 2022 Vuelta a Espana, his first Grand Tour win.

The Vuelta a Espana is one of the three major races in cycling alongside Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.

Evenepoel, 22, won the tour with a total time of 80 hours, 26 minutes and 59 seconds in the general classification.

He beat Spanish rider of Movistar Team Enric Mas, came second with 80 hours, 29 minutes and one second.

UAE Team Emirates' Juan Ayuso from Spain came third in the general classification as he was four minutes and 57 seconds behind Evenepoel.

The Vuelta a Espana's opening race was held in the Netherlands' Utrecht on Aug. 19, and ended in Madrid after Stage 21.

UAE Team Emirates rider Juan Sebastian Molano won the 96.7-kilometer (60-mile) final stage in Madrid.

The Colombian national completed the final round in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 36 seconds to beat second-place Trek-Segafredo's Danish rider Mads Pedersen in the Spanish capital.

Team Jumbo-Visma's Slovenian rider Primoz Roglic, who won the Vuelta a Espana in 2019, 2020 and 2021, had to withdraw from this year's competition after a Stage 16 crash on Sept. 6.

In the 16th stage, Roglic crashed to go down with 75 meters (80 yards) to go.

The 32-year-old was second 1 minute and 26 seconds behind Evenepoel in the general classification before his withdrawal.