The performance of Team Jumbo-Visma rider Primoz Roglic on Saturday seemed to assure him of victory in the Vuelta a Espana as the 29-year-old Slovenian needed only to complete a short ceremonial run to Madrid yesterday to lift his first Grand Tour after another “good day” in the saddle.
Roglic, a former ski-jump champion, leaped into the overall lead in last week’s individual time trial and maintained a healthy advantage under constant pressure over a string of tough mountain stages. He was clear by more than 2 minutes, 30 seconds at the top of the general classification going into the closing ride to the Spanish capital.
“I still need one stage, but the mountains are now behind us,” Roglic said.
Photo: EFE
Saturday’s 20th stage was won by another Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who not only secured the white jersey as the best under-25 rider, but climbed to third place in the overall standings after capturing a total of three stage victories in this year’s Vuelta.
“Again a good day for us, a good day for Slovenian cycling — this is really nice. I’m really happy with it,” Roglic said.
Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates is the breakout star of the Vuelta and deprived Colombia’s Miguel Angel Lopez, one of the great animators of this tour, of the white jersey.
The youngster attacked from within an elite group of riders with 30km to race and produced a relentless show of power.
Pogacar and compatriot Roglic needed only to finish Sunday’s run into Madrid, which was expected to finish in a mass bunch sprint, to climb onto the podium.
Team Jumbo-Visma provided Roglic with a solid platform from which to take his victory, surrounding their leader with a strong team after he failed to close out the Giro d’Italia in May.
The victory emulates last year’s performance by Simon Yates, who had looked set to win the Giro before wilting, but then redeemed his reputation by winning the Vuelta.
World champion Alejandro Valverde of Spain’s Team Movistar seems assured second place, but his teammate Nairo Quintana, who started Saturday in third dropped to fourth.
However, the 39-year-old Valverde was all smiles at the finish line.
“You’d say I was the one who won the Vuelta,” the Team Movistar captain said jokingly about the crowd of journalists mobbing him on a chilly, bleak hilltop. “I’ll be honest — after Pogacar left, I couldn’t hear a thing in my earphones up here and I thought I’d lost second place, so in fact I’m pretty happy.”
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