Primoz Roglic has become the sole record winner of the Vuelta. For his German team Red Bull, the Slovenian’s fourth triumph is a conciliatory success after a mixed summer.
Primoz Roglic has crowned himself the sole record winner of the Vuelta a España in Madrid. After the final individual time trial of the 79th edition over more than 24 kilometers in the Spanish capital, the Slovenian from the top German team Red Bull triumphed in the Tour of Spain for the fourth time. In the overall ranking, he is 2:36 minutes ahead of the Australian Ben O’Connor and third-placed Enric Mas from Spain.
Roglic finished second in the race against the clock behind the day’s winner Stefan Küng from Switzerland. Between 2019 and 2021, Roglic had already won the tour three times. The young German talent Florian Lipowitz, third on the sixth stage, crowned his strong first fully completed Grand Tour by finishing seventh in the overall ranking.
No further trauma for Roglic
On Friday, Roglic reclaimed the red jersey of the overall leader. The cycling star triumphed on the Alto de Moncalvillo with a strong team performance. Ben O’Connor had previously successfully defended the jersey since the sixth stage. Roglic started the final time trial with a lead of almost two minutes over O’Connor.
A time trial shortly before the end had already caused a trauma for Roglic in the past. In 2020, he had to admit defeat to his compatriot Tadej Pogacar on the penultimate stage of the Tour de France and lost the yellow jersey – and the Tour.
A conciliatory conclusion for Red Bull
For his German team, Roglic’s next coup in Spain is a conciliatory end to a more than mixed summer. Red Bull suffered several setbacks at the Tour de France after the energy drink manufacturer got involved. First, Roglic, one of four Tour victory favorites, suffered defeats against strong competition from eventual winner Tadej Pogacar. The captain had to end the Tour after twelve stages due to the consequences of a fall. The ambitious team finished the Tour de France without a single stage win of their own.
The Vuelta did not end on a positive note for Red Bull either. At the end, German professional Nico Denz, weakened by stomach problems, fell outside the time limit on the penultimate stage. His teammates Daniel Felipe Martinez (Colombia) and Patrick Gamper (Austria) had to abandon the race due to virus infections. The team is investigating whether food poisoning is behind the wave of illness.
Source: Stern
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