"Tadej Pogacar would have won this Vuelta by 15 minutes" - Questions posed of 2024 Vuelta a Espana's level of competition

Last weekend in Madrid, Primoz Roglic bounced back from Tour de France disappointment to secure himself a record-equalling 4th Red Jersey win at the Vuelta a Espana. Given the absence of the likes of Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, how high actually was the level in Spain though?

This was a question posed on the Kop over Kop podcast by Eurosport. Despite the undoubted impressiveness of Roglic's 4th Red Jersey win, the Eurosport experts are quick to question whether the Roglic seen at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana would've been able to live with the likes of his compatriot Pogacar, had the UAE Team Emirates leader been present.

"Who was the best in this Vuelta? Pogacar would have won by fifteen minutes. It is actually a bit absurd to say that Pogacar could have won the Vuelta at 80 percent," begins Eurosport pundit Jan Hermsen. "There must be a reason why he didn't ride here. I actually thought Roglic was quite boring. Karsten Kroon also said that he knew he was going to win. The time trial was coming up and he knew exactly what to do."

Whilst Ben O'Connor's stage 6 breakaway raid did pose some danger to Roglic, Hermsen notes that other than that, there wasn't much to get excited about this Vuelta a Espana. "If that hadn't happened, what have we been watching? Mikel Landa attacks and loses minutes the next day, Enric Mas who is actually not good enough and UAE who occasionally shows nice things," he continues. "If you compare the Giro and the Vuelta side by side and you compare it to the Tour, then the level at the start is worrying. You have to be careful that the Giro does not also become a kind of preparation race. I was quite shocked that no rider could ride a Grand Tour for three weeks in a stable manner except Roglic."

"I find it remarkable that Pogacar can ride very stable and can ride two Grand Tours without having a bad day and that no one else can do it. Are those men that good or are the rest racing so naive? What have we seen in terms of attacks from the challengers?" Hermsen concludes.