Primoz Roglic is inevitable. It is true that he does not have a spectacular physical shape, he receives the occasional joke given his ‘look’ (he answers them with a note) and lives under much less spotlight than before due to the adventures and misadventures of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in the Paris-Nice, but the resolution of everything is always similar. Roglic wins. With its rules and styles that define it. He measures, saves and finishes off. And ends up winning. He added his double in the Tirreno-Adritico by being the best in the complicated finish of Sassotetto – Fonte Lardina, he is the new leader of the ‘Race of the Two Seas’ and presents all the credentials for the course that will start with a lot of time in Italy.
A regular. The ‘Roglic’ law lived a carbon copy of his last master class. He was never in the first positions and focused on running ‘covered up’ and wrapped up. The ascent had its own and the Slovenian understood that from the beginning. Bad weather, a lot of headwinds and everything conducive so that much more could be lost than gained if the machine was forced unnecessarily.
So much so that the organization, due to bad weather at the top of the Macerata region, decided to cut the final 2.5 kilometers and leave less ground for the show. For sure, it is unknown if that ‘cut’ the cyclists, since the usual trend was little movement. Movistar came in commanding, ran out of units and Damiano Caruso left the best movement.
He could have been the winner and until the final kilometer he had all the options. But Enric Mas changed the pace. The Spaniard, with a lot of strength in his legs and a tremendous attitude, put the direct one, reached Caruso and if he had had an understanding with Landa -also good-, Buitrago, Carthy and Ciccone, who arrived at their wheel, could have claimed victory. They didn’t go very far. Despite not having an award, Mas repeated a perfect ‘feeling’. He has legs, easy pedaling and can be seen among the best in racing. Since that unfortunate end of the Tour de France he has been another runner. Magnificent news for Spanish cycling.
A group arrived and Roglic, always ‘covered’, would come out of hiding. From the side he gained strength and no one could stop him in his resolution. Another victory in his favorite distance, his house brand. No, it is not as decisive and spectacular as the Pogacars and company, but it is just as decisive. He wins and knows how to do it. The key to everything.
They are two in two days marked in red. In a year in which his dreams begin in Italy, and competing from a plane with fewer spotlights, he is still the usual Roglic. A winning DNA, brutal form and intelligent enough to make his rivals despair. Opt to be the next Poseidon of the Tyrrhenian… and license to dream about everything.
Classification of stage 5 of the Tirreno-Adritico
General classification of the Tirreno-Adritico
