Slovenian cyclist Primož Roglič finished in the final 6th stage on Saturday for the overall triumph in the WordTour race Around the Basque Country. The two-time Vuelta winner shook off all opponents in the fight for the final standings during a short but challenging stage and took second place behind his teammate from the escape, David Gaudu, who gave him one of the biggest victories of his career.
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Slovenian cyclist Primož Roglič in the archive picture.
Davis Stockman, ČTK / AP
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Roglič was second to 23 seconds behind the American Brandon McNulty before the decisive stage. About 70 km before the finish, the peloton tore up the Astana team in the downhill and McNulty took a loss that he had no chance to eliminate and finished in the field of the covered.
On the contrary, Roglič managed 112 kilometers over seven categorized climbs without hesitation, dictated the pace in the front group, and when he reached the finish line in Arrate, he could afford to let the Frenchman Gaudu win. The group of pursuers, as well as the winner of the Tour de France and McNulty’s teammate Tadej Pogačar, was brought to the finish line in third place with a gap of 34 seconds by Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde.
Thirty-one-year-old Roglič won the race with a lead of 52 seconds over his Jumbo-Visma teammate Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark and made up for the disappointment of Paris-Nice in March, where he lost the triumph in the last stage. Pogačar finished third with a gap of 1:07 minutes.
Josef Černý, who took second place on Friday after a long escape, did not finish the final stage.
| Around the Basque Country (WorldTour) – Stage 6 (111.9 km) | |
| 1. Gaudu (Fr./Groupama-FDJ) | 3:05:42 |
| 2. Roglič (Slovenian / Jumbo-Visma) | ” |
| 3. Valverde (Sp. / Movistar) | -34 |
| 4. A. Yates (Brit./Ineos Grenadiers) | ” |
| 5. Pogačar (Slovenian / SAE Team Emirates) | ” |
| 6. Vingegaard (Dán. / Jumbo-Visma) | ” |
| … | |
| Black (ČR/Deceuninck-Quick Step) | did not finish |
| Final ranking | |
| 1. Roglič | 19:11:36 |
| 2. Vingegaard | -52 |
| 3. Pogačar | -1:07 |
| 4. A. Yates | -1:26 |
| 5. Gaudu | -1:27 |
| 6. Bilbao (Sp. / Bahrain Victorious) | -1:28 |
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