2023-09-14 04:30:00
Could it be the swirl of mist covering the summit of Angliru on Wednesday which gave rise to a hallucinatory phenomenon in the minds of many observers? Seeing the Kuss-Vingegaard-Roglic trio break away at the height of the slopes of the monster of Asturias, some wondered for a moment if the Roubaix velodrome had teleported to the Spanish summit. Rather than taking care of the staging of a collective domination turning into a Mapei-style dictatorship over the Hell of the North, the runners from Jumbo-Visma ultimately preferred to race among themselves. Primoz Roglic thus had no qualms about unhooking his red jersey teammate 2 kilometers from the summit when the last winner of the Tour remained installed on the Slovenian’s luggage rack.
“I saw that Sepp (Kuss) was stalling, but in such a difficult climb, everyone gives everything they have, that’s how it happens,” confided the three-time Vuelta winner after crossing the line in victory with the turbo still engaged, visibly in search of every precious second (he took 25 from Kuss, where he is 1:08 behind overall). All three of us have the freedom to attack. It is the road that will decide who wins in Madrid. Or will the bosses make this decision (laughs)…?”
A speech behind which lies quite clearly the personal ambition of Roglic who would like to join Roberto Heras and his four successes at the top of the prize list of the event. Vingegaard seemed to see the end of this Vuelta in a completely different light. “The objective of the day was to try to get the stage victory and stay in the first three places overall. So it’s mission accomplished and I’m happy that Kuss was able to keep his red jersey. Because I would sincerely like him to win the Vuelta on Sunday in Madrid…”
Could this be an indication of a certain fracture in the yellow and black clan?
Cian Uijtdebroeks brilliant 7th at Angliru: “I expected worse”
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