It’s a completely crazy stage that the Vuelta peloton experienced this Saturday. Our consultant Gerard Bulens returned to the incidents that marked the end of the race.
His first words were necessarily on Primoz Roglicauthor of a good acceleration at the end of the race but victim of a fall during the sprint: “We had the impression that we were living a kind of rest day on the bike until three kilometers from the finish and the attack of Roglic who tries to regain a few seconds. He makes a very good effort which surprises everyone the world except for a few sprinters before falling while trying to get back on the wheels. The result, we see following the finish line: he is groggy, his elbow is bleeding, we wonder if there is he doesn’t have a fracture when you see the way he is holding his arm. Definitely, Roglic is really unlucky. He does it at a time when, for the show, he is doing something very interesting but it’s ok bring back what? Just a few seconds (note: 8 seconds).“
This fall might clearly handicap the Slovenian in the coming days according to our consultant: “We saw it with Remco. When you are injured, even if you don’t have a fracture, your recovery is less good because you sleep less well. In addition, in the two or three days following the fall, you always have a backlash because the body is affected and reacts to these injuries. It’s not at all good for the Slovenian’s Vuelta suite. He will go through the hospital, do x-rays, his evening will be disrupted and his night difficult “I think in the next few days he will be disturbed by this and will not be in the state he was in today when he placed this attack. It can be, unfortunately for him, a drama to finish this Vuelta without defending his chances normally.”
According to the press release from the organizers, the Slovenian suffered superficial injuries to the elbow, hip, knee and rib on the right side.
Re Remco EvenepoelBulens is not worried even if the red jersey was very far away when Roglic attacked: “I don’t ask myself any questions at this level because he recognized this finish yesterday. The profile was relatively dangerous with short turns and a peloton sprint. In my opinion, he has a plan in his head for the next stages. , he feels good and he didn’t want to take any risks. Fortunately, the crash took place in the last three kilometers and the puncture was interpreted by the jury as a racing incident.”