Jumbo-Visma and Primoz Roglic loose Kuss and crucial GC time on Les Praeres: "We had hoped for better"
Cycling
Primoz Roglic is having a mixed Vuelta a Espana on the first week, first winning a stage after Jumbo-Visma has seen several of it's riders lead the race throughout the opening week, but then losing some time on Remco Evenepoel in the early mountainous stages.
Although on stage eight's Colláu Fancuaya Roglic showed his best legs and kept up with the Belgian and Enric Mas, today he struggled once again, on a climb that was well suited to his skillset. “Of course we hoped Primoz could keep up with Evenepoel, but there are few riders who can keep up with him at the moment”, his DS Grischa Niermann told reporters after the end of the day.
Although Roglic kept up with the initial acceleration of Juan Ayuso, he soon found himself in trouble. Although the Slovenian managed to limit his losses to less than a minute, he saw both Juan Ayuso and Carlos Rodríguez catch and drop him over the climb. “Primoz is not quite riding at a hundred percent yet. Yet he is still in the top of the classification. We didn’t expect Primoz to gain an advantage over his competitors today. We tried to limit the damage," Niermann added.
Although the time lost on Remco Evenepoel is already of 1:53 minutes, it is not yet a position of stress for the Dutch team. Evenepoel still has the second - and hardest - half of the race to go, and to withstand three weeks at the same level will be a difficult task. Roglic sits third, within 41 seconds of Enric Mas who currently stands as perhaps the biggest long-term threat in the race.
"I must admit that the gap with Evenepoel was big at the finish, but there are still two weeks to go. Third place in the general classification is solid, although we had hoped for better. We’re not giving up, and we’ll keep fighting," the Jumbo-Visma DS concluded. The opening week will open with a time-trial in Alicante, which should see 'Rogla' taking time on most of his rivals.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
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