Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel are the two most recent winners of the Vuelta a España, but if they want to add a new victory in the Spanish Grand Tour this September, the Slovenian and Belgian both know they will have to pass Friday’s first high mountains exam in the Pyrenees with flying colours.
Remco has never previously raced before in the French Pyrenees in a Grand Tour, the Belgian star pointed out to reporters, although he has reconned the Tourmalet this summer and won last week in nearby Andorra’s Vuelta summit finish in Arinsal.
Back in the 2018 Tour, Roglič won a stage which tackled both the Tourmalet and Aubisque before finishing in Laruns and so perhaps has a psychological advantage over his Soudal-QuickStep rival when it comes to the Vuelta’s incursion into France.
Roglič certainly gained a minor morale boost on Thursday when he snatched four seconds with second place in an intermediate sprint time bonus in the last part of the stage, saying it was not planned, but when the opportunity arose, he saw no reason not to take it.
"I wanted to gain a bit of time; sometimes you gain a bit of time, and sometimes you lose," he pointed out at the stage 12 finish in Zaragoza. “There wasn't really a plan, but I was there, and I went for it."
Roglič both agreed that the gaps would be much bigger on Friday's first major mountain stage 13, but he turned down the idea that he might be worried he could have used up some energy he could need the following day on the climbs.
“Not really. I don't care, " he said categorically before pedalling away.
While Roglič brightly described the prospect of Friday’s stage as "a new day and a new challenge,” Evenepoel was equally upbeat and even cracked a couple of jokes.
Asked at the finish by Sporza how he would handle the collective superiority of Jumbo-Visma, Evenepoel answered, “Every day, I see someone from Jumbo-Visma standing behind your back to listen. I won't reveal anything anymore.
"The most important thing is that I have to have the legs. Then it remains to be seen who is in the break and how my teammates are feeling."
Given that Jumbo-Visma have three riders in the top 10, the Dutch team was starting from a better position of strength, he agreed, before repeating that the key element in the equation for succeeding on Friday was “the legs."
Evenepoel also pointed out that stage 13 was something of a voyage in the dark for him, but it was one he was keen to experience.
"I'm looking forward to it because it's my first time [racing] in the [French] Pyrenees. I'm starting a new chapter. I'm curious."
