A front group of six rode away early in the race. Despite a four-minute lead, the escape did not last long. The wind created echelons. This meant the riders could no longer save energy for the highlight of the day, the double climb of Superga.

Roglic saw teammates Tobias Foss and Michel Hessmann in a front group of about twenty riders. The latter two didn’t hesitate and decided to accelerate considerably in service of their Slovenian leader. On the climb, the front group thinned out and some riders from the back managed to make the jump to the leading group. A real elite group set course for the final climb to the basilica.

Adam Yates was in good shape and accelerated after Mauri Vansevenant had already attempted to escape. Roglic saw that the competition couldn’t go any faster and he pushed again. The Olympic time trial champion closed in on Yates, stoically parried a few pinpricks, and made things difficult for the Brit. The Slovenian crossed the line solo and won for the thirteenth time this season. Roglic’s victory raised Team Jumbo-Visma’s total number of victories to 44 this season, including the Olympic gold.

“It was a tough race again”, Roglic confessed. “Fortunately, my legs were good. I’m happy I was able to add a win to my season total. The conditions were good. However, the wind made it quite tough. The battle in the course started early. Today’s field of competitors was very solid. That resulted in a tough final. I was initially happy to follow. Fortunately, I had some power left to place a decisive acceleration that ultimately helped me to victory. I have to compliment the whole team. We fought together and started early to control the race. We were alert during the echelons. This victory can be defined as a real team effort.”

On Saturday, Roglic will be at the start of the Tour of Lombardy. The course of the falling leaves is his last race of the season. “It’s important to recover quickly now. Saturday’s race presents another nice challenge. I’m eager to finish my season with a victory. The Tour of Lombardy is my big goal of this block of Italian one-day races. It’s a monument. The rest speaks for itself. We will do our best as a team to start the race as good as possible. We’ll see if we can compete for the win again on Saturday. For now, I’m going to enjoy this victory and then I’m going to focus on the next race.”