Roglic retains second place after short Giro d’Italia mountain stage

Roglic retains second place after short Giro d’Italia mountain stage

Primoz Roglic is still second in the general classification after the fourteenth stage in the Giro d’Italia. In the short stage to Courmayeur, the Slovenian finished ninth in a group of favourites.

After a fast and heavy opening phase, the peloton was controlled by Team Jumbo-Visma. On the penultimate climb of the day, the peloton broke apart and the classification riders fought a battle. Roglic finally crossed the finish line at almost two minutes from winner Carapaz, who is also the new GC leader. The leader of Team Jumbo-Visma follows at seven seconds in the general ranking.

Roglic looked back at a tough stage. “It went really fast from the start, especially the first thirty kilometres. I felt good and the team worked hard. We took the responsibility for which I have to compliment my teammates. On the last climb it was a man to man battle and everyone was riding at their limit.”

“After a tough start, everything came together”, sports director Jan Boven looked back. “We controlled the race from then on. Both the riders for the flat parts and the riders for the mountains did a good job and did what they could. In the final we saw the same tactical game as yesterday. They eyed each other, after which Carapaz took the jersey. That is an exciting game. It is very nice to see, because we are here to play our part in that game of course.”

Sports director Addy Engels had also seen his riders ride a good race, but had seen a competitor approach as well. “During the last stages, some riders who are ranked lower in the general classification came closer, but now a dangerous rider has passed Primoz in the GC. Of course Nibali and Carapaz are competitors for the ranking, but there are a few more. We have seen that when the race explodes, Movistar is the only team that actually has an extra man. The upcoming stages will be important.”

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