After previous triumphs in 2019, 2020 and 2021, Primoz Roglic will be hunting for his fourth overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana in the coming weeks.
The big question is: has the Slovenian recovered sufficiently from his crash at the Tour de France?
“My back certainly still hurts,” Roglic said.
Initially, after his crash at the Tour, no serious injuries were diagnosed, but a while later it was revealed that he had suffered a broken vertebra from his fall. Roglic then limited himself to rehabilitation, but was still ready in time for the Vuelta. But the leader of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe certainly does not feel 100% the day before the start of the three-week race.
“I still suffer from the consequences of that fall, especially my back still hurts,” said the Slovenian. “I also still have pain while cycling, yes. But that is also normal: recovery does not happen overnight. Normally I should be pain-free again by the end of the Vuelta. I am looking forward to that.”
“Otherwise I wouldn’t have come here, although the feeling in the race is still a question mark. I’m here without a race in my legs. I am optimistic, because the pain should get better every day. I don’t really have any doubts. We start with everyone on an equal foot and we have to go for it.”
With Daniel Martinez and Aleksandr Vlasov at the start of the Vuelta, the Red Bull has strong backup plans who could also compete for the final victory in case of a Roglic fail.
