Primož Roglič on Stage 19: ‘At least I was on TV’

Primož Roglič rolled the dice on Stage 19 of the Tour de France—and came up snake eyes.

The Slovenian veteran attacked early in the decisive Alpine stage, hoping to gain time in the general classification. But the move didn’t stick. “It was all or nothing for me today. In the end, it was almost nothing,” Roglič told TVSLO. “I did everything I could and enjoyed it. At least I was on TV. Maybe not at the end, but after the start,” he said.

Roglič’s doomed move left his young teammate Florian Lipowitz isolated behind. Still, the German delivered—locking up third on the stage and holding on to the white jersey. “I knew I had to keep Oscar Onley’s wheel after yesterday,” Lipowitz said. “You never know how your legs will react at the end. But I felt quite okay and I went full throttle when I saw him let go. I’m super happy with today.”

Lipowitz remains cautious heading into the final mountain stage. “Tomorrow will be tough. Everyone will try something, so we have to stay focused. But today was incredible. Seeing my name painted on the road… I had goosebumps.”

Directeur sportif Bernhard Eisel stood by the team’s tactics. “Roglič would’ve liked to win the stage, but it didn’t work out,” Eisel told Eurosport. “For us it would’ve been nice if he finished fourth or fifth, but we know his history—we respect it. He fought.”
Asked if it was risky to leave Lipowitz alone, Eisel brushed it off: “Not really. The gap was only 20 seconds. We had hoped Roglič could hang on after his attack, but with the pace, it wasn’t possible.”

Speaking to Sporza, Roglič doubled down on his decision to go early: “It was a special day, one of those where you just have to try. I wouldn’t change anything.”

There are two days left for the fellas in France. Stage 20 runs from Nantua to Pontarlier—a lumpy 184.2 km day in the saddle. Sunday’s finale is the traditional, and yet not-so-traditional, romp into Paris. The riders will tackle the Montmartre climb three times before the usual laps around the Champs-Élysées. It’s not quite the 20 laps planned for the Paris Olympics, but it might still tenderize a few fastmen’s legs.