"I stayed on the bike so that's quite the improvement from yesterday" - Primoz Roglic upbeat despite time loss to Evenepoel in Dauphine time-trial

Primoz Roglic showed some good signs in the individual time-trial on stage 4 of the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine. Finishing third on the stage, the BORA - hansgrohe leader has now moved up to 2nd in the general classification as a result.

"I'm happy! I stayed on the bike so that's quite the improvement from yesterday," says Roglic with a wry smile in his post-stage interview, referencing his innocuous crash before the cameras were even rolling on Tuesday's stage 3. "It was okay out there today and like I said, staying on two wheels, that was nice."

In his first race back since crashing out of the Itzulia Basque Country, Roglic was heading somewhat into the unknown. Losing 39 seconds to Remco Evenepoel and now sitting 33 seconds down on the Belgian in the GC was far from a disaster however. "I put quite some training in but definitely I'm not at my best coming here. But yeah, it's still better to do a race than training. I never do these kinds of things in training so it was needed for sure," continues the Slovenian. "It's just the beginning."

With the general classification still relatively tight at the top and with just 1:04 separating the riders on the podium, it is still all to play for as well in the fight for the pre-Tour de France Maillot Jaune. "Tomorrow is another easier stage I think," Roglic previews. "Then it is the big finale."

As an added complication, Roglic is also riding on a completely new set-up following his winter move from Team Visma | Lease a Bike to BORA - hansgrohe. "It's quite the change. The first real time-trial for me too, let's say Basque was kind of a prologue, but definitely I'm happy with the way it went," concludes the 34-year-old.