Vuelta a España race leader Remco Evenepoel has acknowledged that Primož Roglič’s abandon will change the race, but he insisted that it will not alter his focus in the final five days of the race.
Roglič’s abandon was confirmed by Jumbo-Visma on Wednesday morning, and it means that Evenepoel’s overall lead has grown from 1:26 over the Slovenian to 2:01 over Movistar’s Enric Mas. It also removes Evenepoel’s most dangerous and experienced rival from the equation as the Vuelta a España approaches its endgame.
“This doesn’t change anything in our tactics or our mentality,” Evenepoel told reporters before the start of stage 17 in Aracena. “It’s still the same feelings, the Vuelta is over in Madrid. It’s going to change the race a little bit, but not our concentration or focus: that’s not going to change at all.
Evenepoel downplayed the idea that his route to victory would easier without the winner of the past three editions of the race breathing down his neck.
“Everybody is still dangerous, every day is dangerous, every corner is dangerous. We have to be careful and focus until Saturday evening – and even Sunday evening,” said Evenepoel, who acknowledged that Mas was, by dint of his position on GC, the man he would be watching most closely.
“For sure, the closest is the most dangerous, but there is still a very strong [Miguel Angel] López and the two young Spanish guys. We are still looking at everybody in the top ten.”
In the revised standings, Mas is the only rider within four minutes of Evenepoel. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) is 4:49 behind, with Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos) lying at 5:15 and Miguel Angel López (Astana-Qazaqstan) now provisionally fifth at 5:24.
After Evenepoel dominated the opening half of the Vuelta, Roglič had begun to claw back time over the past three stages, beginning the trend at La Pandera and continuing atop Sierra Nevada on Sunday.
Roglič resumed his offensive on Tuesday’s finale in Tomares, attacking from the peloton with 2.6km to go on the gentle rise to the line, dragging a five-man group 8 seconds clear by the finish.
His crash in the finishing straight, however, would force him out of the race. Roglič had already abandoned this year’s Tour de France after dislocating his shoulder and fracturing two vertebrae in a crash in the opening week.
“It’s a big loss, especially for the race but more for himself, I think,” Evenepoel said. “It’s something you don’t wish for anybody. I just hope he can recover well. I feel really…
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