Emotional Remco Evenepoel scores Vuelta a Espana stage win

An emotional Remco Evenepoel gained some redemption with a solo stage win in the Pyrenees at the Vuelta a Espana.

The defending champion and favourite saw his red jersey hopes slide away during a disastrous stage 13 as he lost more than 27 minutes on his main rivals.

The Belgian admitted he struggled to sleep because of the disappointment but he poured all his efforts into the mountain stage from Sauveterre-de-Bearn to the Spanish border at Larra-Belagua.

Evenepoel was in a breakaway with Romain Bardet but rode clear of the Frenchman over the final kilometres, crossing the line more than a minute ahead and with tears in his eyes.

Speaking to Eurosport, Evenepoel said: "Yesterday was a very difficult day. I couldn't sleep too much, I had a very bad night, a lot of negative thoughts in my head.

"Today I woke up and I said to myself 'just go for it, make the best of it’. It was a super hard stage. I did a recon of it and I knew perfectly how the climbs were, how hard they were. Just super nice to take a second stage win. I think I can be very proud after yesterday."

Leader Sepp Kuss and his Jumbo Visma team-mates Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard, who make up the top three in the general classification, finished in a group more than eight minutes adrift.