Bram: “I travelled to Spain for the final stages of La Vuelta, after having already covered the start of this grand tour. The very day I arrived in Spain, a massive crash occurred in the race, with Primoz and several other riders of our team hitting the tarmac. This couldn’t be, right? Tony Martin was taken to hospital and his teammates had to chase full gas to limit the damage in an infamous final that finished in Toledo. Primoz crossed the line with cuts and bruises, but was able to retain his red jersey. After having cooled down riding his Tacx Smart trainer and having a soigneur tend to his wounds, he climbed onto the podium to receive his red jersey once more. Some 45 minutes after finishing, the Slovenian rider now finally got a quiet moment for himself. Primoz, the team’s media officer and myself stepped into an elevator that would take us to the press conference in Toledo’s army museum. This is where I shot this article’s photo, which for me captures both the essence of that day’s stage, and Primoz’ personality. He appeared to be cornered by his competitors’ attacks, but the look on his face is that of an unruffled predator, thinking about his next move.

Primoz: “This photo shows me learning from experiences. I was thinking about my teammates, about Tony who had crashed badly and who had to abandon the race. I weighed the damage, wondered if we’d made mistakes. Were there things we should do differently next time? And how do we approach tomorrow’s final mountain stage? Considerations like that.”