‘A moment to hold back our horses’ – Primož Roglič inching towards Vuelta a España lead

It’s all in the eye of the beholder. By his own standards, Primož Roglič has looked relatively subdued on the last two summit finishes at the Vuelta a España, but perhaps the home excitement sparked by Enric Mas’ accelerations has had a distorting effect on how one views this race.

Roglič ultimately lost no time on the Movistar man at Cuitu Negru and at Lagos de Covadonga, drawing inexorably closer to Ben O’Connor’s red jersey in the process. With four stages remaining, including a final time trial that clearly favours him, Roglič is just five seconds behind O’Connor and 1:20 ahead of Mas. He is, in many respects, the de facto race leader and, for most observers, still the most likely winner in Madrid.