Primož Roglič put any doubts behind him on stage 11 of the Vuelta a España, bouncing back from the previous days crash to win the day in emphatic fashion.
The Jumbo-Visma leader put in a flying performance on the climb to Valdepeñas de Jaén, going head-to-head with Movistar rival Enric Mas on the brutal gradients of the final climb.
Despite Mas looking strong early on, it was Roglič who put in a characteristic sprint to win the stage, taking his second victory in this year’s race.
Roglič said: “It was a hard stage. It was short but super hot. I was suffering a lot but luckily at the end I had enough for the win.
"[Mas] was super strong, but luckily I had a little more at the end.
“It’s always nice to win, you never know when the last one will be.
“It was a nice finish with a steep uphill, which I can normally do well on. It was a nice challenge.
“The team did an amazing job, pushing really hard all day and keeping the breakaway at a close distance, so thanks to them for making this possible.”
Roglič bested Mas by just three seconds at the finish, but he also gained some time on the rest of his rivals, including Adam Yates and Egan Bernal (both Ineos Grenadiers), who lost seven seconds and 11 seconds respectively.
It was a convincing comeback for Roglič, whose hopes of overall victory were almost upended when he crashed on a descent while attacking on the previous day, stage 10.
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Fortunately for the double Vuelta champion, he didn’t suffer any lasting injuries as he slid out on a dusty turn, getting back on the bike and still gaining time on his Ineos rivals.
When asked how it felt to put the crash behind him with a stage win, he said: “It was a good day yesterday and I wanted to take positive things, but with the win today it’s beautiful.”
