Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic on Sunday sealed a third successive Vuelta a Espana title after winning the final time trial.
He becomes the third rider to have won the Vuelta three times after Tony Rominger of Switzerland (1992, 1993 and 1994) and Spain’s Roberto Heras (2003, 2004 and 2005).
“I am honored to win for the third time,” Roglic said. “It was another beautiful day and it was three beautiful weeks. I am very happy for myself and the guys around me. This is truly a team effort.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Team Jumbo-Visma rider finished 14 seconds ahead of his closest rival, Magnus Cort Nielsen, in the 33km time trial in Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, the 21st and final stage.
That gifted Roglic the biggest overall winning margin, of 4 minutes, 42 seconds, since 1997.
Spain’s Movistar rider Enric Mas, whom Roglic lapped on the time trial — a discipline in which he is Olympic champion — finished second, with Australian Jack Haig of Bahrain Victorious rounding out the podium.
“Sometimes you win by a big difference, sometimes by a little, but any way of winning is fantastic,” Roglic said. “We watched it day by day. I did my best and enjoyed it.”
“It was a tough last stage,” the 31-year-old added. “I just tried to focus on the stage today and do my very best. It’s unbelievable, it’s crazy.”
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