Roglic withdraws from the Vuelta a España after suffering a hard fall yesterday – EL PAÍS

Roglic, at the goal of Tomares after the fall in the sprint. DPA via Europa Press (DPA via Europa Press) Primoz Roglic has not recovered in time, bruised and with significant burns on his arm, shoulder, hand and right thigh, aftermath of the fall he suffered this Tuesday in Tomares, when he attacked the peloton with 2.8 kilometers to go. Fierce, aware that the Vuelta was going to attack and make Evenepoel shiver, who has spent 11 days in the red jersey, the Slovenian managed to open a gap, a great move to show the registration to all but four brave men who reached the finish line eight seconds ahead of the peloton. The same did not happen with Roglic, who skidded on the asphalt when he barely had a few pedal strokes left to cross the checkered flag, face down, broken glasses and work overalls with holes, blood everywhere. A fall that, after the night, has suffered the worst of bills because he will not be able to continue in the Vuelta. This was confirmed by Jumbo, the Slovenian already absent from the Aracena starting line. “Unfortunately, Roglic will not be at the start of stage 17 as a result of the crash,” confirmed the official statement. Although he started the Spanish round a little out of shape, Roglic went from less to more, combative and feisty like few others because he had in between the eyebrows winning his fourth consecutive laurel of the Vuelta, something that nobody ever achieved, even though Roberto Heras did achieve four laurels during his career. Thus, the Slovenian lost time in the first mountains of the Basque Country and Asturias, also in the individual time trial, but then he stood up and said enough, able to cut Evenepoel by more than a minute in the last two ascents: Sierra de la Pandera and Sierra Nevada. He also gained eight seconds in the last sprint, even though his bones hit the ground. But he is no longer on his feet and will have to settle for what remains of the Vuelta from the sidelines, overcome by injuries. A setback for the Slovenian, who completed his first seven Grand Tours -two Giros, third in 2019; four Tours, second in 2020; and two Vueltas, laurels for him-, but that adds three dropouts in the last four. He retired from the Tour in 2021 after a heavy crash in the third stage, even though he endured five more days on the bike, when he accumulated minutes and minutes lost because he could not ride properly. The same thing happened to him in the Tour of this course, again another bump on the pavés to the point that his shoulder came off. And, although he helped Vingegaard, he dropped out with six days left to close the competition. Aches and pains that did not allow him to prepare well for this Vuelta -hence his small weaknesses in the first week-, which now become bigger because he will not continue in the peloton. Roglic’s departure, in any case, catapults Enric Mas ( Movistar) to second place on the podium, 2m and 01s behind Evenepoel, the only one in the fight to fight for the red jersey. But, as strange as it sounds, Roglic’s departure does not help Mas too much, who had the power of Jumbo to put Remco in trouble in the mountain stages, as Gesink and Harper were able to wear down the leader and Quick-Step when the road got steep, which Movistar did not. At the same time, in any case, the fan opens for the third drawer, now occupied by Juan Ayuso (UAE) -19 years old, the youngest of the peloton and his first participation in a big one-, who is 27s ahead of Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos), 21 years old, also his first major. From behind, the Colombian Miguel Ángel López, Superman (Astana), asks for a turn, just 8s behind Rodríguez. Open podium but not for Roglic. “Get well soon champion! Thank you for the wonderful moments offered in this Vuelta. You had ambitious plans for the last few days, but sadly it won’t be possible”, they pointed out from Jumbo. You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Twitter, or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.