Roglič wins record-equalling fourth Vuelta
Slovenian cycling ace Primož Roglič has won his fourth Vuelta e España title, sealing victory with second place in the final-stage time trial on 8 September to join Roberto Heras as the rider with the most overall wins at the Vuelta.
His fourth Vuelta win in six years also completes an unprecedented Slovenian grand tour trifecta, Tadej Pogačar having won the Giro and the Tour earlier this year.
"It's crazy - already four, I just want to enjoy it" Roglič said.
In the final classification the Red Bull BORA-hansgrohe rider beat the Australian Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R) by 2 minutes and 36 seconds. Spain's Enric Mas (Movistar) was in third 3 minutes and 13 seconds behind.
It was not all smooth sailing for Roglič in Spain. He took the lead in the mountainous stage 4 up Pico Villuercas, but in stage 6 O'Connor orchestrated a massive surprise by winning the stage by more than six minutes, putting nearly five minutes between him and Roglič.
The Slovenian then systematically chipped away at the gap, picking up bonus seconds and stage wins to finally don the red jersey again in stage 19, when he utterly dominated the legendary climb to the Alto de Moncalvillo.
The final two stages were but a formality for the 34-year-old, who now has five Grand Tour titles to his name, one of only 11 riders who have ever managed that, with 22 wins at multi-day races, 88 career race wins and 33 stage wins, of which 15 at the Vuelta.
"This is nice! The more you go to an end, you just want to finish it off. There's a lot of sacrificing, not only by me, but also my family, everyone around me. We all live for it. I just feel happy I can do it. I really appreciate all the support from the people around me," he said.
It has been an eventful year for Roglič, who changed his team of eight years, Jumbo Visma, to compete for an outfit with only one Grand Tour podium finish since it was launched in 2010.
He won an early race, the Critérium du Dauphiné, but was then plagued by misfortune. He first withdrew from the Tour of Basque Country after a mass crash and then bandoned the Tour de France, after crashing in stage 12 and injuring his spine.
The Vuelta win is bound to make up for the disappointment at the Tour, a race which has eluded him so far.
