Lemco Evenpoel seems destined for bigger victories in his career, but he won't get a bigger trophy than the one handed to him on the final podium of the Vuelta a San Juan.

"It's going to be really hard to get this on the plane," Evenepoel said after the ceremony on Sunday evening." I don't know if there will be enough room to bring it home."

A year ago, even before Evenpoel arrived in the propeloton, some dizzying predictions were being made about his eventual parma. That distant future already seems to have bled into the present, and if his ninth place in Argentina 12 months ago was a sign of promise, the way he won the overall here felt almost like a warning that further success was imminent.

"This is my first big win of the year. This result gives me a lot of confidence and I hope to keep up the good form," said Evenpoel. While South American continental and national teams made up the majority of the peloton, only six World Tour teams were present in Argentina.

"It's a very tough race here," said Evelpoel. "What's especially difficult is that you're competing against teams you would never normally meet. Those national selection teams make the race even more difficult."

Evenepoel was probably referring to the fact that he was caught on the side of the breakaway when the peloton broke apart on the approach to Alto Colorado on stage 5. In a Johan Cruyff-esque nomic phrase, he said the next day,

"It was a mistake, but it wasn't a mistake."

After spending most of the spring training in Calpe, the 20-year-old will be preparing at home in Belgium for his next competition, the Volta Ao Algarve, which will be held February 19-23. The route features two uphill finishes and a time trial on the final day, which will give Evenepoel a chance to compare himself with the likes of Portugal's Geraint Thomas (Ineos) and Miguel Angel Lopes (Astana).

Following Tirreno-Adriatico and the Ardennes Classics, Evenepoel will make his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia. Since deciding to enter this race last month, he has been reminded repeatedly that he could wear the maglia rosa at an earlier age than Fausto Coppi if he wins the first day's time trial in Hungary.

"Hopefully, that would be really great, but I'm just going from race to race, and I have other big races coming up, so I'm not going to say I'm focused on that. In Budapest I'm going to run the 10km as fast as I can."

Evenepoel's remarkable run inevitably drew comparisons to Eddy Merckx in his home country. Although Evenpoel seems less bothered by being called the second coming of Merckx than other young Belgian riders,

he admits that he is not too happy with the comparison.

"I like it better than being called Eddy Merckx," Evenpoel said on Sunday. 'I just try to be myself, be the best I can be. I keep my feet on the ground. I have a really good team around me that helps me. I'm confident that when my career is over, I'll still be the same."

On the podium in San Juan, Evenpoel received even higher praise, at least from an Argentinian perspective. He was handed an Argentine jersey with his name and number 10 printed on the back, a nod to his soccer career, and the speaker tried to lead the crowd in chants of "Lemco, ole" as if this were a soccer stadium.

"The crowd was so great it gave me goosebumps," Evenpoel said, but he shook off the notion that he was the Lionel Messi of the cycling world. I am Lemko Evenpoel," he said."