Open jersey. wind against the chest. An image that is often a symptom of fatigue, of the limit state when 2,000 meters of altitude are approaching. But not in him, because he does what he wants. Primoz Roglic returns to the top of the podium from where he has not come down all season (Tyrrhenian, Catalonia and Giro) to conquer the first Return to Burgos His record shows a final exam for La Vuelta in which he received distinctions: two stage wins and the overall win. And also in the team time trial, the start of the Spanish round on August 26 in Barcelona, he prevailed together with his jumbo teammates. The Slovenian has already registered twelve wins this season, or what is the same: one less than Jonas Vingegaard and four less than Tadej Pogacar, albeit with fewer days of competition than both. He will share stripes with the Dane, the youngest two-time Tour de France champion, at La Vuelta, but it will be the road that determines who runs the Dutch team. As it should be.
The Slovenian on the podium was accompanied by Aleksandr Vlasov, another one that appears in the list of favorites for La Vuelta, and adam yates, that in the queen stage ends in the mythic Neila Lagoons They were direct witnesses to the champion’s supremacy. After he left the Brits’ last onslaught sitting and completely left in the last few meters, Roglic made the final point with his classic hurry to sign the 77th win of his career.
A 100 mile menu of three superb ports, the first two being just appetizers to start a bite. The final fireworks, as is usual with the Burgos loop, would take place in the already classic Lagunas de Neila, with a challenging climb 7 km with 8.7% average gradient. It was difficult to form the breakaway group at the start, which is why the peloton remained compact after 20 kilometers. Shortly thereafter, Alexander Cepeda, Joe Dombrowski, Jetse Bol and the Spanish Carlos Canal You organized a getaway you never dared dream of. Many interests and many teams are striving to claim a prestigious stage win, with overall victory at stake between Roglic, Adam Yates and Vlasov. Arrive at Alto del Cargadero, the penultimate level of the route Jumbo pushed another gear to be nearly a minute from a leak in which only Canal, Bol and Dombrowski resisted.
At the decisive moment, the peloton woke up from its lethargy. With 10km to go, as the final climb was just around the corner, they neutralized the breakaway. With Neila’s Lagoons, the moment of truth had arrived. Bora, UAE and Jumbo took over the top positions in the peloton, marking territory. The three on the podium, very well placed. The entire Emirates went with anything and everything Thanks to Domen Novak and Jay Vine, both Roglic and Vlasov have been isolated. With 2.5km to go, Yates made his bet but failed to outperform his two main rivals. Roglic equalized the title. However, a champion of his infinite class is never satisfied, he always wants more. He started about 300 meters from the finish and won completely unharmed. without feeling the slightest bit of squeezing. He’s ready for the Vuelta.