March 24, 2023
Primoz Roglic has won the fifth stage of the Tour of Catalonia. On the steep climb to the top of Lo Port, the Slovenian proved stoic as the competition bombarded him with attacks, before going into battle himself in the final hundreds of meters.
The roads towards the foot of Lo Port were relatively flat, but that changed 9k from the finish. Towards the finish line, the road rose an average by nine percent.
Halfway through the climb, Remco Evenepoel attacked. Roglic jumped straight to Evenepoel’s wheel. In the final kilometer, the Belgian accelerated again, but Roglic did not crack. He went on and on and achieved his sixth victory of the season. That victory means the seventeenth victory of the early cycling year for Team Jumbo-Visma.
“I am very happy”, Roglic said. “It’s been a while since I’ve contested such a tough climb in competition. It gives me a very satisfied feeling that I am able to do this. The legs felt particularly good today. It was another great fight in my opinion. Despite the fact that I suffered, I was able to enjoy it. This is another step in the right direction after my shoulder surgery.”
He enters the final weekend of the race with a ten second lead. “Nothing has been decided yet. The difference was minimal again today, but luckily this time in my favor. There are still two tough days ahead, so we have no right to count ourselves rich already. Sunday will certainly be particularly heavy. It’s the same recipe as always. I’m going into the race with full motivation and conviction, and then we’ll see what the outcome will be. In any case, this victory gives confidence for everything that is to come.”
Result
01 P. Roglič 4:27:41
02 R. Evenepoel +0:06
03 J. Almeida +0:12
