Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana claims that Remco Evenepoel's comments about poor conditions for Friday's crucial off-road summit finish are no longer valid, as the climb improved on Tuesday.

Friday's 5.5km stellato climb of the Alto Antenas del Maigmo Tibi is the only summit finish in the race, followed by two flat stages that could very well decide the overall standings.

On Tuesday afternoon, Quick-Step Alphavinir's Evenpoel caused a stir when he claimed that this climb was all but impossible due to the rocky surface and very poor condition of the road.

However, the race organization claimed on Wednesday that Evenpoel's comments were in fact outdated. The race organization's response was not a surprise, as road construction vehicles and street sweepers were dispatched Tuesday morning to ensure that the climb of the packed ace was slightly wider and in perfect condition. [Paco Benitez, technical director of Valenciana, told Cycling News.

Evenepoel climbed the climb in January during the Quick Step Alfavinir training camp near Calpe and was so shocked that he thought his GPS was wrong.

But the GPS was right.

"OK, it's not a highway. Benitez continued, before waving his hand to indicate that all the large stones had been removed.

"If he had been there in January, he would have seen those stones and thought, "Hmm, this is going to be crazy."

"We widened it a little bit and raked up some of the other loose stuff. I thought about getting out the sprinkler truck and packing the sediment in tight, but the rake alone will do the trick."

"In any case, tomorrow [Thursday] evening the organization will go in person and recheck to make sure nothing else needs to be done."

In the unlikely event of rain, Benitez said, "We have a Plan B, which is to take an alternate route up to the summit, just the paved road."

This 5.5-kilometer climb, unprecedented in Valenciana, has a 1.7-kilometer stellato and will finish 1 kilometer from the summit, Benitez said.

"The average gradient is 9 to 10 percent, with a short section having a 15 percent gradient. Some stellate sections are 11 percent, but they are all about 9 percent."

"The gradients are all about 9 percent,"

Benitez said.

"But it is all in the forest, not on the side of a cliff, so there is no danger. It should be spectacular for TV viewers."