A few kilometers after the start in Elche, Remco Evenepoel's power meter readings were already telling him it was going to be a good day.

Evenepoel has done almost everything right so far in this Vuelta a España, but when he was warming down in his cooling vest after stage 10 and was informed of the time difference with Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma), he could not contain a smile. I couldn't hold back a smile.

His Vuelta attempt, carefully tuned by Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl since last winter, had long been oriented around this 30.9km time trial on the familiar flat roads of the Costa Blanca. Evenpoel thought he might be able to win this stage and gain some ground on his rivals for the overall, but he did not expect to be 48 seconds ahead of Roglic, who has won the stage three times before.

"Forty-eight seconds, that's a surprise," Evenpoel thought twice. I saw my teammate Remi (Cavagna, 1:00.3) did a very good run. I was still sitting on the bus when I saw that compared to his time, we were all slowing down at the end. It was flat and the finish was super hard, so I knew I had to push one out all the time."

At an average speed of 55.676 km/h, Evenepoel was both an exhibition of power and a study in pacing: at the first intermediate check after 10 km, he was already 21 seconds ahead of Roglic, a gap that grew to 37 seconds at the 20 km mark. He added another 11 seconds on the final run along the coast, increasing his overall lead over the Slovenian to 2:41.

Enric Mas (Movistar) was third at 3:03, with only Carlos Rodriguez (fourth at 3:55) within four minutes of the Mayo Rojo. Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) are nearly 5 and 7 minutes behind, respectively. Evenpoel can no longer pretend that a stage win or a top overall finish is the pinnacle of his ambition. This Vuelta is now his race to lose.

"I have a big lead and I'm feeling good, so I'm just thinking about keeping this red jersey for as long as possible and keeping a really good position on GC. So far I think the Vuelta has been a success. I don't have the stress of a stage win anymore and now I can relax and think a little bit about controlling the race."

Evenpoel's stage win came on the road closest to home in this Vuelta. Although he has used the area near Calpe as his training base since the beginning of his professional career, part of his preparation for the Vuelta took place in the atmosphere-controlled rooms of the Sinclosfera "Altitude" hotel on the coast. Despite downplaying the importance of his prior knowledge, he took the opportunity to ride the route of stage 10.

"There was nothing crazy on the technical side, more like feeling how fast the road would be for the gearing of my bike," he said. I don't think doing three or four TTs was an advantage over doing one this morning."

While Evenpoel was congratulated on the podium, Roglic expressed satisfaction with his run and admitted that, at least for now, the red jersey was "not on the level" of the others. His victory in La Guardia on stage 4 already seems like a long time ago. A week later, Evenpoel appeared in his own race.

"I'm feeling really good myself, the team is doing well, everyone is in a good mood and happy, so I don't really think or talk about the other riders. I hope I can keep this level up until the end of the Vuelta."

That's where this Vuelta will be won or lost. Evenpoel's advantage cannot be expected to be overturned in small increments by Roglic, Mas, et al. One can only hope that the 22-year-old Evenpoel will suffer a disaster somewhere between here and Madrid.

The terrain gets tougher the later in the week, especially in the Sierra Nevada, and Evenpoel, of course, has never finished a Grand Tour in his young career. With that in mind, he hinted at a less aggressive approach from here. You have to manage your energy as well as your advantage.

"I didn't expect to be so far ahead at this point in the Vuelta," he said. I think I will race more defensively now that I have the stage win." If I have the legs and the chance, I can attack, like [Jonas] Vingegaard did in the Tour de France.