Primoz Roglic finished 29th in the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico today in Pomarance, Italy. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s Slovenian rider had help from his team-mates to position himself for the steep final climb and was able to stay with the best riders afterwards. Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-Quick Step) escaped and won the stage.

The stage was a quiet one for a long time. BMC Racing controlled the breakaway, which gave the other teams the chance to focus on the final 15 kilometres. “That was where we wanted to be in front with Primoz Roglic and Enrico Battaglin,” Sports Director Jan Boven said after the race. “Enrico had to change bikes just before that moment and wasn’t back in front in time. Primoz was supported by Timo Roosen and Tom Leezer perfectly. They brought him to the foot of the climb and Timo was able to cover him for a moment, as well.”

Roglic thanked his teammates after the race because positioning in the big races isn’t easy for him yet. “I had to be in front in time and the guys helped me very well,” he said. “I really needed them while taking position. On the climb, everything went well afterwards. I was able to follow the front men easily. I just kept on following. I should have been thinking more about winning at that point. That’s something to improve on. I’m thinking about the general classification as well, so saving energy is also important.”

Sprint lead-out

Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s overall leader doesn’t have to help in the sprint lead-out for Moreno Hofland on Friday. “We are going for a sprint with Moreno,” Boven added. “Everyone will do an effort for that except Primoz. It’s a nice challenge to rev up our sprint lead-out another time. To prepare a bunch kick requires a perfect combination of the things we did with the team in yesterday’s and today’s stage.”