Roglic opens Itzulia Basque Country with time trial win

Roglic opens Itzulia Basque Country with time trial win

Primoz Roglic has won the first stage of the Itzulia Basque Country. The 32-year-old rider of Team Jumbo-Visma completed the individual time trial in Hondarribia the fastest and secured the yellow leader's jersey.

On the beach of Hondarribia, the riders left one by one for their race against the clock over 7.5 kilometres. Roglic, last year's winner, started last and had an excellent start to his time trial. At the first intermediate point, the reigning Olympic champion time trial recorded almost the same time as Remco Evenepoel, but Roglic managed to make the difference in the second part. It proved enough to secure his third win of the season.

"I'm super happy with this victory", Roglic said. "It was not an easy time trial, held on a technical course with many corners. I had good legs today and could fight until the end. I enjoyed the crowd and the atmosphere."

According to the Slovenian, his victory gives no guarantees for the rest of the week. "This was a ten-minute effort, so there are no big differences yet. Of course it is always better to be ahead than behind, but this doesn't mean much. It is just the beginning."

For Team Jumbo-Visma, Roglic's time trial victory is the ninth win on the road in 2022.

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