After setting the fastest time in Tuesday's time trial to Punta Negra in the Vuelta a San Juan, Remco Evenepoel (Detunink-Quickstep) wanted to track the progress of his rivals who had yet to finish. Instead of squinting at the small screen in his hot seat, Evenepoel procured a deck chair, placed it under the large screen in the finish area, and watched intently as Filippo Ganna (ITA) crossed the finish line 32 seconds ahead of him. The stage win and overall lead were his.

On stage 4, on the ridge that led the peloton into the Ischigualasto Provincial Park, Evenpoel again kept a close eye on his rivals. Alert, Evenpoel moved quickly to a small group that had formed in pursuit of the Frenchman. Although not as comfortable as the deck chairs of the night before, Evenpoel pedaled just as comfortably.

"They started to attack. It was easy to keep up with them and it gave me confidence," Evenpoel said. I had the legs to keep up with the attack."

After climbing through a psychic provincial park, the peloton encountered heavy rain on the long, fast descent to the finish at Villa San Agustin, but Evenpoel was unfazed.

"We knew there could be more scenarios depending on the wind," he said. In one such scenario, Evenpoel gained a bonus second in the second intermediate sprint, extending his lead to 33 seconds over Ganna and 1:09 over Oscar Sevilla (Medellin).

"I wanted to reach the final 3km mark, so I dropped a bit in the pack. 'I'm wearing the white leader's jersey, I don't need to be in the sprint, I don't need to help the leaders. I wanted to protect the jersey and I took one second more, so it worked out."

The Vuelta a San Juan had a rest day on Thursday. This is unusual for a stage race of this length, but perhaps necessary, given that the riders would not arrive at their hotels until close to midnight after stage 4, with over three hours of travel ahead of them. The race resumes Friday with a summit finish in Alto Colorado.

Twelve months ago, when Evenepoel debuted as a professional straight out of junior, he made headlines with a ninth-place finish behind Movistar winner Anacona. This time, the young Belgian will be taking on the uphill climb with much bigger ambitions. It is a sign that the team said this week that they intend to win more stages "with me, Alvaro [Hodeg], or someone else.

"Last year I was in a different position. I had to work for Julien [Alaphilippe]. This year I am in the defending position and have a big advantage. I don't have to attack. I just have to keep up and try not to lose my wheels," said Evenpole, who cited Team Medellín's Oscar Sevilla as his most dangerous rival. [43-year-old Sevilla, who turned pro more than two years before Evenpoel was born, has not raced for a European team since his involvement with Operacion Puerto.

The elevation to Alto Colorado reaches 2,565 meters, and the elevation and length of the climb are more significant obstacles than the gentle 4.4% average gradient. The official climbing distance is 15 kilometers, but in reality, the last nearly 50 miles of stage 5 will be uphill. It's an unusual challenge, but it doesn't seem to daunt Evenpoel.

"Is it a climb that suits me? It doesn't feel like a climb to me..."

"It doesn't feel like a climb to me, Evenpoel said. In fact, we've climbed 80 kilometers, which means we've been climbing for almost three hours. The hardest part is the last three kilometers. There is always an echelon. It was the same last year and the year before. I'm not a heavy guy, so every climb should suit me, but we'll see what happens."