Despite missing out on stage 3 of the Volta a Catalunya on Wednesday, race leader Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) was all smiles after passing another high-altitude test. The Slovenian finished just behind World Champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) after giving up two seconds on the stage to La Molina, and the pair are now tied in the overall standings.
The two riders have been a step above the rest in the first three days of racing. Roglič won the opening stage on the short, steep kick to the line in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, then out-sprinted Evenepoel to take second to Trek-Segafredo's Giulio Ciccone at the Vallter 2000 ski resort. On La Molina, however, the Slovenian let go of Evenepoel's wheel in the final turn.
"Like I said yesterday, the climb was a few metres too short, today was a bit too long," Roglič joked after the stage to CyclingPro.net. "Remco was super strong today, and I didn't have the legs. I'm still happy with the place I finished."
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The pair have proven to be a step above the rest of the climbers, with Ciccone losing 13 seconds, finishing in a small group with Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious).
So far, the Volta a Catalunya has done nothing but improve Roglič's confidence after he began the season with a rather unexpected overall victory in Tirreno-Adriatico. Recovery from an off-season shoulder surgery is now firmly behind him six weeks before the Giro d'Italia.
"I'm super happy with the position I'm in - from where I came and how it's going, I have to be happy. I keep on smiling," Roglič said.
Now that he is tied on time with Evenepoel, the stakes are much higher for Friday's demanding stage to finishing atop the Mirador del Portell - a hors categorie climb that's 8.6km long and averages 8.8% grades. It's most likely the last chance to make a big difference in the overall standings, with a likely sprint stage on Thursday and a short, steep kicker over the Alt de Fontpineda with 15km to go before a flat finish on Saturday.
The final stage on Sunday, with six trips over the Alt del Castell de Montjuic in Barcelona, is not a simple finale, either.
"We'll do the best - whatever that means, if we win, if we are 10th, 15th, we'll see. We'll definitely do what we can do. We'll see after Friday's stage what it means and more after Sunday's stage where we finish," Roglič said.
For his part, Evenepoel also sees his performance as a good indicator before his second stab at a Grand Tour victory in the Giro d'Italia after inheriting the Vuelta a España title from three-time winner Roglič in 2022.
"I had a super good day. I think I wanted to try and go for it," Evenepoel said. "I knew there was a steep part before the small descent coming into La Molina, so I decided to put a big attack there, and only Primož was in my wheel. I had the feeling that maybe he wasn't that strong anymore. I was quite confident in the sprint, I knew I had to go first into the corner, not like yesterday."
Today's victory wasn't his first of the season - that came with the team time trial in the UAE Tour and the overall victory there. However, it was the first time that he was able to raise his arms in victory since winning the rainbow jersey in Australia last September.
"It's a beautiful stage win - unfortunately, not in the rainbow jersey, but at least I have a picture on the podium in my rainbow jersey."
