‘We Attempted a Strategy for the Final Climb, But It Backfired’ – Primoz Roglic Responds to UCI Penalty

Primoz Roglic Faces Time Penalty and Race to Reclaim Red Jersey Ahead of Tough Final Week in Vuelta

With one week left in the Vuelta a España, Primoz Roglic has yet to reclaim the red jersey. Although it was clear from the start that allowing Ben O’Connor a five-minute advantage in the general classification wasn’t the best strategy, Roglic’s Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team has been steadily chipping away at the Australian’s lead. However, as the second rest day arrives, Roglic still trails by just over a minute. While there’s still time to make up the gap, the situation remains far from ideal.

To complicate matters, Roglic was handed a 20-second penalty by the UCI for a questionable bike change before the final climb. When asked about it in a press conference, Roglic took the penalty in stride: “I can’t change it, so I’ll just have to make up the 20 seconds. Whether I agree with it or not doesn’t matter. Of course, I’m not happy about losing time like that, but I’ll survive with 20 seconds less.”

The penalty was imposed after Roglic and his teammates were seen drafting behind a team car following a bike change. Roglic admitted, “We tried something for the final climb, but we ended up losing more time than we gained.”

Despite dealing with back pain from his Tour de France crash, Roglic’s performance hasn’t been affected so far. Looking ahead, he remains optimistic: “The third week of this Vuelta is going to be really tough, but things have been going well so far. I’m staying positive and not worrying too much.”