So much has happened in this year's Vuelta a España that it feels like ages since Primož Roglič sat in the race press room in Monaco and told the media that 'just putting my socks on these last three weeks was the hardest.' And that the 36-year-old could go from such a difficult starting point, due to a major pre-race training crash and injuries, to finishing second overall in the Vuelta on Sunday evening is even more remarkable.
But that is what has happened. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe pro was able to claim his sixth Vuelta a España podium in eight editions, adding a runner-up spot behind Enric Mas (Movistar) and ahead of Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) to his third place in 2023 and four overall victories in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024. It's also his first Grand Tour podium in two years.
Small wonder, then, that Roglič said on Sunday evening that "second place feels like a victory to me," and that even if he could not take a record-breaking overall win - for which he was widely tipped after compatriot Tadej Pogačar crashed out on stage 8 - his satisfaction at such a high finish was easy to comprehend.
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Hit by a car when training at altitude before the Monaco, Roglič had had to cancel several races before heading to the Vuelta and as he revealed four weeks ago, instead of preparation, I did rehabilitation."
"After crashing, I couldn't think about sitting, nor even riding a bike."
Fast forward to this Sunday evening in Granada, and although Roglič could not challenge Enric Mas (Movistar) for the top spot overall, losing small amounts of time on most mountain stages, he remained very much in the thick of the action right up to the last day.
Whilst his time trial performance in Jerez de la Frontera was strong enough to ensure his second place ahead of Felix Gall was secure, Mas' delivery of a time trial far better than expected made going for the top spot all but out of the question.
"You know how I did the start, the reality of that," Roglič said in a regrettably very brief appearance before the media in the Vuelta press room on Sunday evening. "The race started in Monaco," - where Roglič lives - "and I wanted to be a part of it, but I went for it day by day, to see where we ended up.
"In the end, I finished second this year, and it was definitely hard to imagine before the start. Second place is like a victory for me in this case. We did our best day after day, and Enric was just better. I'm super happy for him, because at the end he also deserved to finish first."
As for whether he will now come back to the Vuelta in the future, Roglič did not rule it out, with a bid for a record-breaking fifth overall win still, therefore, a hypothetical possibility. But a return didn't seem definitively on the cards, either.
"Maybe, I don't know in what condition or shape or if it's just to watch, we will see," he replied.
"Day by day, we have just finished the Vuelta, now we probably have a focus on enjoying the Worlds in Canada. I've never been there and it should be nice to go there.
"I decided to do the Worlds, and now we have some race intensity in my legs, but we have no expectations. I just want to go there, enjoy it and do my best, and the race will tell me what place I should be.
"After that we're going to Slovenia [to the Europeans] and so we'll see. .The Vuelta is still one year in the future, so we will see what the next year brings."
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