Stage 11 of the GIro d'Italia had a surprising outcome, with the GC riders fighting for the stage victory and Richard Carapaz taking a stellar win which puts him back in contention for one of the top spots at this Giro. At the end of the day, Thijs Zonneveld was left scratching his head over the tactics of both Primoz Roglic and UAE Team Emirates - XRG - but for different reasons.
For the Slovenian, he has commented on the ascent to San Pellegrino, where Egan Bernal launched an attack and was only matched by the UAE duo at first. "Then Bernal accelerated, and Ayuso reacted immediately, and Del Toro reacted immediately to Ayuso. There were quite a few riders in trouble. You see that Roglic reacts late every time, that he actually tries to ride as economically as possible," Zonneveld said in the In de Waaier podcast.
"When he is really good, bam, he is on it. Or he is not good, and it has to come from his toes. Or he's actually quite good, and he doesn't want to waste too much energy. I think he's better than he looks. But if he's good, he'd be on the wheel right away". The lack of clarity of Roglic' form is perhaps a bluffing tactic, further aided by the lack of his presence in the sprint for bonus seconds at the end of the stage.
However the Slovenian wasn't the only one whose behaviour during the difficult day in the Appennines puzzled the Dutch pundit. UAE had a large numerical presence but did not try to take advantage of it in any way, and let Roglic remain in their wheel all day long whilst they worked to control attacks.
"What were they actually doing? They were doing everything and nothing. I think there were about 25 men in the peloton, and the entire UAE team was still there, including Baroncini, Majka, Arrieta: all those guys were still there. There were two more Red Bulls: Pellizzari and Roglic himself".
Under such circumstance, despite having first and second in the overall classification, it would come as a natural idea to try and take advantage of their numbers. Specially with Adam Yates and Brandon McNulty inside the Top10, who later instead worked for their leaders and lost time at the finish line. "You had the idea: you can get something out of this. But they didn't".
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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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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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- 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
- Martinez had a good year! 5th at the Tour was a great result for him, albeit largely through getting in successful breaks, but he held it better than Pidcock who’d done the same.Lozza14-11-2026
- guess what Valgren, you're 34, and no you're not good enough. sorry to say.mij14-11-2026
- I'm a sepp fan and like to think he earned that LOL, indulge me : ) I think Jonas was fine. Roglic did not want to concede to Sepp. and I don't think you ever attack your own teammate in the leaders jersey if he is holding his own, which Sepp just about was.mij14-11-2026
- enough time? he's 24 years old. He's won 10 races over the last 2 years and some are significant. I won't argue about his attitude being good - it needs to improve. But with some coaching and mentorship he has a lot of winning ahead of him and has plenty of time to win a GT. I don't think he will ever beat Tadej, but everyone else is fair game Look at Mas and Valverde - they were 31 and 29, respectively, when they won the Vuelta.mij14-11-2026
- Pogacar has a fine head on his shoulders.Careful investments and a couple of coffee shops sounds like a wonderful way to chill after an intense career.Stay healthy GOAT.
Brucegel14-11-2026 - I live in Maribor.PogiSloFans14-11-2026
- I live in Ljubljana and often go on trips in the surrounding area, where I frequently see young cyclists in 'Pogi Team' jerseys training, either alone or in groups. By simply motivating so many young people to take up cycling, Tadej has already achieved something truly significant.Velijo14-11-2026
- That's an excellent point. It's interesting that Vader came to that realization only after he learned that his contract wasn't going to be renewed.
santiagobenites14-11-2026
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