PRIMOZ ROGLIC PROVED he has fully recovered from his Tour de France-ending crash with stage four victory in the Vuelta a Espana on Tuesday.
The three-time Vuelta winner triumphed atop the daunting closing climb to Pico Villuercas to stake his claim for a record-equalling fourth success in one of cycling’s three Grand Tours.
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The Slovenia veteran, ably supported by his Red Bull-Hansgrohe teammates, reeled in a two-man breakaway up the gruelling 14.6km long ascent with a gradient of 16% over the final 5km.
In a desperate scramble for the line, Lennert Van Eetvelt had his arm raised in victory only for Roglic to pip him to the post, with Joao Almeida in third.
Roglic was rewarded for his endeavour by taking over the race leader’s red jersey. He leads the UAE team’s Almeida by eight seconds in the general classification.
Plenty of title contenders were left scattered down the mountainside in their wake as Roglic made a clear statement of intent about his chances of adding to his Vuelta wins in 2019, 2020 and 2021 to equal Roberto Heras as the race’s most successful rider.
Cork’s Eddie Dunbar lost ground in the general classification as he finished 3:02 behind Roglic, dropping from 30th to 38th overall, while Grand Tour debutant Darren Rafferty — riding for Richard Carapaz on Team EF Education-Easypost — finished more than 13 minutes adrift.
Wednesday’s stage five will be easier on the legs with a less demanding 170km ride, tailormade for the sprinters, from Fuente del Maestre to Seville as the race heads into Andalusia.
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Roglic wins thrilling summit finish on the line as rival celebrates a second too early
PRIMOZ ROGLIC PROVED he has fully recovered from his Tour de France-ending crash with stage four victory in the Vuelta a Espana on Tuesday.
The three-time Vuelta winner triumphed atop the daunting closing climb to Pico Villuercas to stake his claim for a record-equalling fourth success in one of cycling’s three Grand Tours.
The Slovenia veteran, ably supported by his Red Bull-Hansgrohe teammates, reeled in a two-man breakaway up the gruelling 14.6km long ascent with a gradient of 16% over the final 5km.
In a desperate scramble for the line, Lennert Van Eetvelt had his arm raised in victory only for Roglic to pip him to the post, with Joao Almeida in third.
Roglic was rewarded for his endeavour by taking over the race leader’s red jersey. He leads the UAE team’s Almeida by eight seconds in the general classification.
Plenty of title contenders were left scattered down the mountainside in their wake as Roglic made a clear statement of intent about his chances of adding to his Vuelta wins in 2019, 2020 and 2021 to equal Roberto Heras as the race’s most successful rider.
Cork’s Eddie Dunbar lost ground in the general classification as he finished 3:02 behind Roglic, dropping from 30th to 38th overall, while Grand Tour debutant Darren Rafferty — riding for Richard Carapaz on Team EF Education-Easypost — finished more than 13 minutes adrift.
Wednesday’s stage five will be easier on the legs with a less demanding 170km ride, tailormade for the sprinters, from Fuente del Maestre to Seville as the race heads into Andalusia.
– © AFP 2024
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Cycling Darren Rafferty Eddie Dunbar Primoz Roglic Vuelta a Espana