Roglic: "Evenepoel slipped away, right in front of me. I've had that too" as Peñas Blancas reveal consistent Evenepoel

Jumbo-Visma have lost their main card to play in the mountains alongside Primoz Roglic in Sepp Kuss, but that didn't prevent the Dutch team from attempting to test Remco Evenepoel on the 12th stage of the Vuelta a Espana. However it was not a successful one.

Roglic talked to reporters at the end of the day, having been asked about Evenepoel's crash earlier on in the day: “Evenepoel slipped away, right in front of me. I've had that too. It can be slippery here on the descents, so we have to keep an eye out. I had a good feeling today.” The Slovenian stayed safe and on the bike, and had good legs in the final ascent.

“It was a long day and a long climb, but doable," he said. Rohan Dennis set a high pace early in the final climb, however when the first attack from Enric Mas came Roglic was a noticeable absence from the move. He managed to pace himself back, and as Evenepoel pushed the pace in the closing kilometers, he managed to stay in the wheel and avoid loosing further time.

“We'll see how it goes, last year I had a similar start to now. I was certainly not the best in the beginning, so I hope to be even better now. We're going to see how I improve; looking forward to the coming days," Roglic concluded. He kept his gap of 2:41 minutes to Evenepoel, one he will hope to reduce over the coming weekend.