Hunger crises? Pain from various falls? Having a bad day? In the end Primoz Roglic saved the Criterium du Dauphine for just 8”, when instead it seemed like a walk in the park. The Slovenian must always include a thrilling day in his journey, even when he triumphs. And so it was today towards Plateau des Glieres.
Even if this time It seems more likely that there was a nutritional or hydration error before or during the stage. It's just a guess, of course, but it seems unlikely to us that from one day to the next the strongest team will see all three of its best players in difficulty or at least less brilliant.
Hindley, Vlasov and then Roglic who were previously dominating are suddenly not the strongest? Okay, if it happened to one, but to three out of three, it seems like a lot. And if that's really the case, Roglic can sleep soundly.
Roglic optimistic
The captain of the Bora Hansgrohe he seemed calm anyway. He was certainly happy to have brought home a race for which his team had worked so hard.
"I definitely had a tough time today," Primoz said after the finish, "but don't think things have been much different in the past few days. It was a tough edition of the Dauphiné with all the climbs and crashes. What happened today? I think I was just tired after these days in the mountains, and that's how the others managed to be faster than me." Which can also be true if you look at it in a more general context of preparation.
"I want to enjoy the moment because you don't win races every day in these conditions. We needed this victory after so much work. The team and I are getting to know each other better every day. The atmosphere is good. This success is a pleasure and certainly gives confidence, but winning the Dauphiné is one thing, winning the Tour de France it's another one."
The good news is that Roglic didn't panic. He broke a thread before he could have held it. By his own admission, Roglic said he knew the gaps between the two up front and somehow managed them, especially as long as he had them in sight. But eight seconds is a damned short time to manage.
Beware of Jorgenson
The other news coming from France is that the Visma-Lease a Bike officially has "Plan B" ready in case Jonas Vingegaard is not present or does not show up at his best. A star-spangled plan, named Matteo Jorgenson. The Californian talent may not yet be on the same level as Pogacar, but he can certainly fight for something important.
Jorgenson has shown great technical, physical, and mental solidity this season. He's finally found himself leading the way in important races, without a single slack. He won Paris-Nice, he fought in the classics and in time trials he is the best placed overall among the men in the general classification. It is comparable to specialists like Ganna or Kung.
And then on the climb today he hit his stamina on De Plus's ferocious change of pace. Jorgenson isn't small. If he can take these knocks and then get a chance to catch up, it's a big problem... for others.
That same change of pace that surprised Roglic before causing him problems.
And now Tour
All the top-ranked players say they're growing, that they're missing something... and you have to believe them, but that's more or less the situation. Little can change in three weeks. Carlos Rodriguez he has improved day by day in this Definato and he will definitely want to fight for the podium at the Tour. Spanish is pure substance. It always comes out on top over the distance.
Chapter Giulio Ciccone. The Abruzzese was the one with the fewest days of racing under his belt. As he told us, this was the first event he'd truly been prepared for. He finished eighth, 2:54 behind Roglic. Considering that he took 2:33 of that gap in the time trial, we can say he did very well. Maybe he's the freshest of the bunch, and if Tao Geoghegan Hart doesn't go as expected, at home Lidl Trek he could be the leader of the Grande Boucle.
Even Remco Evenepoel, He didn't seem to be in the best shape, but he's one of those who said they were improving: "I've definitely improved this week. It's nice to finish like this. Considering I'm maybe 85 percent fit, I'd say it's okay. I won a stage, I managed to stay with the best climbers for a long time and the descents went well, so everything was positive in view of the Tour… which I can't wait to tackle."
