In the hilly stage to Sabiñanigo the pace was very high from the start. Team Jumbo-Visma was riding very attentively as Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss were part of a multitude of breakaways. In the end, three riders stayed away. They sprinted for the stage victory. Roglic was positioned well for the final, after which the defending champion was the first of the peloton to cross the line.

“It took a long time before a breakaway got established, but with Jonas and Sepp we always had one rider in the break. That was ideal for us”, Roglic said.

“I knew that the last five hundred metres were still very difficult. So I gave it my all in the sprint. Every second counts. You have to take those opportunities and take advantage of them. The Vuelta is the last race of the year, so nothing prevents us from racing.”

Tomorrow the Vuelta will continue with a tough mountain stage. Roglic is looking forward with confidence. “I expect a big fight from start to finish. It will be a tough stage. The team is in a good shape and we cannot do more than our best. We will try as a team to win this Vuelta and if we succeed, we can be very happy and proud.”