Alberto Contador's advice for Primoz Roglic in 2025: "He has to go all out for the Tour"

Alberto Contador made a final analysis of what the Vuelta a España 2024 has given. The Spanish legend talked about the spice that Ben O'Connor's exhibition in Yunquera has given to the race, recalled his last moments as a professional cyclist in the streets of Madrid, left a tip for Primoz Roglic and dropped a bombshell about Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Remco Evenepoel.

First he began by commenting a little on what has been this edition of La Vuelta, one of the most hilly in history and with an unexpected element at the beginning but that has given a lot of play to the three weeks of competition.

"I think it has been a very nice Vuelta. It has been a Vuelta in which there has been excitement from the start. I think the unexpected ingredient, which was Ben O'Connor, has made it even more of a Vuelta where the riders were forced to attack. And that's what has also given us more spectacle, I think that without Ben O'Connor the Vuelta would not have been the same. And exciting until the last day," he says. "It's true that it was more or less predicted that there would be no big changes, although they were within a few seconds. And well, finally it has been confirmed but I think it has been a great Vuelta".

He then spoke of the moment when he walked the streets of the Spanish capital for the last time with a bib on his back and the memories he had of seeing the fountain behind him as he carried out his role as a commentator, where he has been for some years now.

"It is an unforgettable day. It's hard not to get excited when I have the fountain behind me, not because I'm from Madrid but because this is where I did my last pedal strokes as a cyclist. For me it is something very special, and of course, because in the end you live it with all your people, all your family comes. And well, in the end, no matter where you look you just see riders with their families, and enjoying themselves".

Finally he made a striking comment about BORA, where he seemed to imply that they have Remco Evenepoel tied down and allowed himself to leave Primoz Roglic a piece of advice: go for the Tour de France in 2025 and complete the trilogy of grand tours before seeking to make even more history in the Vuelta a España with a fifth red jersey.

"It is not necessary to go all out, but I was listening in detail to my colleagues, and I asked the question to BORA: 'Hey, congratulations, so and so, so and so. And I say, 'Well, next year, I'm not even going to tell you'. And they started smiling from ear to ear, I'll leave it at that," 'El Pistolero' adds.

"He has to go all out for the Tour. Roglic is not Remco, Remco goes like this and Roglic, the theory says he has to start to slow down. Come on, if I'm Roglic I don't think about it for a minute. Another thing is then the plans that they make, but come on, I have 100% clear that there had to be circumstances for him to win it, and every year it's further ahead, I think he can have it more complicated".