Roglič still reigns supreme in Spain
October 20 th 2020
Already winner of the 2019 La Vuelta, Primoz Roglič (Team Jumbo-Visma) made the most of the first summit finish of the 2020 edition to claim back La Roja as the overall race leader. The Slovenian star controlled his rivals in the Alto de Arrate and launched a powerful attack with 1km to go to immediately assert his authority on the race. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) finished second ahead of Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation). This first stage already opened significant gaps, with only eight riders within 10’’ of Roglič.
The pack rolls out of Irun with 176 starters for the last Grand Tour of the season. Attacks fly from the start of the 75th edition of La Vuelta. Two Frenchmen manage to open a gap after 5km of hard racing: Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Quentin Jauregui (AG2R-La Mondiale). Jasha Sütterlin (Sunweb), Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) and Jetse Bol (Burogs-BH) join them to form the breakaway of the day while Aritz Bagües (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) fails to do bridge the gap and is eventually caught by the pack at km 27.
Jumbo-Visma and Movistar control the gap and the attackers’ lead doesn’t get higher than 3’50’’ after 37km. The rain adds to the tension of the first stage and Dani Martinez (EF Pro Cycling) suffers a crash at km 75. The peloton maintains a strong pace and the attackers stop collaborating when the race hits the first climbs of the day. Quentin Jauregui is eventually the last rider to be caught, 25km away from the finish line.
Kuss and Roglic break the Ineos lock
Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) attacks with 19km to go but Ineos Grenadiers control the bunch in the Alto de Elgeta. Their road captain Chris Froome is among the main riders to struggle on that climb. Andrey Amador (Ineos Grenadiers) sets the pace all the way to the bottom of the Alto de Arrate: 5.3km at 7.7%.
Ivan Sosa ups the ante on the way up for the British squad and the front group only counts 16 riders when Sepp Kuss (Team Jumbo-Visma) attacks with 4.5km to go. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) chases behind him but the American rider keeps pushing until it’s time for his leader to shine: Primoz Roglič surges with 1km to go and makes his way to victory 1’’ ahead of Carapaz and Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation).
STAGE RESULT
1. Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma), in 04H 22′ 34”’
2. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), + 1”
3. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), + 1”
INDIVIDUAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma)
2. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), + 5”
3. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), + 7”
Roglic finishes off teamwork on steep Alto de Arrate and takes red jersey.
Primoz Roglic has won the overture of the Vuelta a España in an impressive way. The Slovenian leader of Team Jumbo-Visma arrived solo on the Alto de Arrate. The winner of last year’s Vuelta a España could therefore immediately put on the red leader’s jersey. It is the nineteenth victory of the season for Team Jumbo-Visma.
Roglic’s victory came about through fantastic work by his teammates. Team Jumbo-Visma, together with a few other teams, controlled the entire stage and never let a group of escapees get a big margin. Robert Gesink took the lead in the final phase after which Sepp Kuss attacked at five kilometres from the finish. A reduced group with George Bennett and Roglic quickly made the connection. After several new attempts by the strong American, the Slovenian national champion went away in the final kilometre. As a result, he took a handful of seconds on his closest competitors. Roglic clinched his eighth victory of the season.
PRIMOZ ROGLIC
“This is a fantastic start”, a happy Roglic said. “I am very happy with this victory. The team has shown that we are very strong. They did a perfect job throughout the stage. It is great that I can reward them for their efforts with this stage victory. We went full gas on the final climb. Sepp rode really fast. I will wear this leader’s jersey with great pride again. Hopefully we can provide the people at home even more spectacle. In any case, I’m going to enjoy this Vuelta. Day by day, we definitely have to do that this season.”
The impressive Kuss, who won a stage in last year’s Vuelta, claimed the first mountain jersey. “We knew the climb would be very steep and difficult. It was suitable for attacks, so we attacked. It was nice to see that Primoz could finish it in this way. Defending the red jersey is our number one priority for now. The Vuelta is the best race of the year for me.”
