As of Thursday, Primož Roglič heads into one of the biggest battles of his career with a record-breaking fifth Vuelta a España at stake, but according to teammate Finn Fisher-Black, there's no sign of any last-minute jitters for the 36-year-old Slovenian.
Roglič is currently lying third overall, 2:10 down on race leader Enric Mas (Movistar), with just four stages remaining of the 2026 Vuelta, starting with a 32.2-kilometre time trial in Jerez de la Frontera.
With four wins overall and a third place in 2023, Roglič's current fight for the fifth will need him to go all out in the remaining stages if he is to succeed.
Latest Videos FromCyclingnews
But Fisher-Black says the 36-year-old, famous for maintaining his calm in almost all circumstances when in public, is the same in private too.
"He's a cool head, on the bus he's still the same as what you see out here. I think he knows what he's doing," Fisher-Black told Cyclingnews on Wednesday.
"He's quietly confident, he's won this race four times, and he knows that he's still got a chance to win it, especially with this TT coming up tomorrow.
"He knows what he has to do, and he's also given us that confidence that he's here to try it. It's all still lying ahead before the weekend."
While Fisher-Black agreed there still was everything to play for, he also paid tribute to the way that Roglič had fought back from a very bad training crash to be in a position to fight for the Vuelta final victory. That it was now possible was a credit to his tenacity, the New Zealander said, when others might have simply given up on their season.
"It says something that he wants to be here, he likes racing, he's enjoying it, it's not like it's a job. He could have had that crash and gone - oh, I don't want to do it for the rest of the year.
"But he wanted to be at the Vuelta, he wanted to be with the team, and that's awesome."
Speaking in general, and asked if there was a single quality of Roglič's that he would like to have for himself, Fisher-Black said that he was a fan of the Slovenian's overall attitude towards racing.
"I would say he's got an ability to just enjoy being on a bike and being outside and being with his friends.
"That's a good way to handle bike racing nowadays. It's sometimes getting too serious, and it can bring him some success along the way too," including, perhaps, tomorrow's time trial and maybe even more on Sunday in Granada.
For unbeatable coverage across road, gravel and tech, subscribe to Cyclingnews. You'll get comprehensive race coverage of La Vuelta a España, subscriber-exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.
