"This is just the beginning" - Primoz Roglic demolishes doubts and takes on Vuelta a Espana lead

With the injuries that have almost had Primoz Roglic miss the Vuelta a Espana taking him off the bike during the last month, there were big questions regarding Primoz Roglic's form. Today, the defending champion has answered most of them.

“How should I say it? This is just the beginning. But I always say: it's better to be a few seconds ahead than a few seconds behind," Roglic said in a post-race interview. “The pace was very high all day, it was a super fast stage. In the final there was a chance to ride for the stage win and I had the legs, so I gave it my all".

Although Jumbo-Visma didn't work hard through the day to reel the breakaway back, they did some positioning work and control throughout the latter part of the stage, and had confidence in the Slovenian. Entering the final climb it seemed clear that Roglic was comfortable, however he seeked the wheel of Mads Pedersen, despite that favouring the Dane. The sprint was far from normal, however the punch that Roglic had in the final meters was dominant and it was not a closely contested win.

“That was the plan, wasn't it? To change the wearer of the red jersey every day. Today was my lucky day. We'll see what tomorrow brings," he said - always with an enigmatic tone. Roglic is however now in the lead of the Vuelta, a position he is familiar with, and will have already to defend it tomorrow en route to Bilbao on what is another tricky day.