Belgian Remco Evenepoel has his sights set on winning the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia after capturing the Vuelta a Espana title for his maiden Grand Tour triumph on Sunday.
The 22-year-old had all but confirmed the win after fending off his nearest rival Enric Mas on Saturday’s stage 20, and finished the job with a final push on the final stage from Las Rozas to Madrid.
The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider became the first Belgian Grand Tour winner since Johan De Muynck at the 1978 Giro d’Italia and the youngest Vuelta champion since Angelino Soler in 1961.
“Winning all three Grand Tours is my biggest dream,” Evenepoel told Eurosport after the win.
“I’m in the red jersey here, so I think I can do well in the Grand Tours. I think it’s really good for my future, the future of the team and for my confidence.
“Now we’re going to look back at everything we did before this Vuelta and then we can take that into the future and use it in preparation for the Giro and the Vuelta.”
Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Felice Gimondi, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome are the only riders to have won all three Grand Tours.