🇪🇸 #LaVuelta24 Today's penultimate stage of La Vuelta features no less than seven categorised climbs, including a mountaintop finish at Picón Blanco. 📍 Villarcayo ➡️ Picón Blanco 🚩 Start 13:00 🏁 Finish ca. 17:20 🛣️ 172km
"This is what he can do best" - Thijs Zonneveld complements world-class Primoz Roglic at Moncalvillo
CyclingSaturday, 07 September 2024 at 12:42
Primoz Roglic had a difficult ending to his Tour de France, crashing out of the race once again but managing to return to competition at the Vuelta a España. The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider is two stages away from winning the race for a fourth time and there were plenty complements regarding his impressive performance on the Alto de Moncalvillo.
"He was briefly sidelined by the big shots, but has now been thrown back into the group app," Thijs Zonneveld said in Het Wiel. "This is what he can do best. A whole day of flat and then one steep mountain. 'Señor uni-puerto' (mister single-climb, ed.), that's what you can call him in Spanish. You have a lot of that in the Vuelta too. A very steep climb at the end after a relatively easy day".
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It is no surprise why the Slovenian thrives in Spain, with the explosive stages, steep climbs and hot weather that favour him. But in two instances (Puerto de Ancares and Alto de Moncalvillo) he was head and shoulders above the rest and these were days where there wasn't a lot of climbing. Without the fatigue of a lot of climbing on the day and more constant efforts; the 34-year let put out a brilliant performance - estimates had it at almost 7W/Kg for 24 minutes, one of the very best rides of his career.
"If he can make an effort that he can control, with guests who can't keep up with him. He knows what wattage he can ride and then in principle no one comes back... The question is whether anyone will dare to do anything after this stage," the Dutchman argues. "Not only because of the time gain, but also because of the power he shows uphill. I don't know if the rest still feel like it".
Zonneveld also shared his thoughts on Enric Mas who is at his best level but is not managing to crack Roglic: "If he stays where he is, he will probably be second in this race for the fourth time. For the fourth time! That is truly a world-class performance. It is almost Poulidorian".
But the race for the podium is wide open, with Mas and Richard Carapaz smelling blood in the water as Ben O'Connor continues to lose time to his direct rivals and his second place is at risk. "That (Mas and Carapaz finishing on the podium, ed.) could be possible, because they can smell that one man is still on the verge of breaking. That's Ben O'Connor. Mas and Carapaz will be after his place. If Roglic gets into trouble, that would be a bonus for them".
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