The Slovenian Primoz Roglic becomes the virtual winner of the Vuelta a España
On Saturday, Slovenian Primoz Roglic became the virtual winner of the Vuelta a España, after fending off an attack from Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz in the seventeenth stage of the race between Sequero and Alto de la Covatilla (178.2 kilometers), which was won by Frenchman David Gaudu. This stage was full of suspense in the final kilometers between Roglic and Carapaz, a close finish that was highlighted by the international press.
Spanish newspaper Marca highlights: "Roglic is a pyromaniac. Very good, possibly the best cyclist in the world to win a three-week race, but he likes to play with fire. In the 2020 Vuelta a España, it would have been normal for him to end up burnt, like in the Tour de France against Pogacar. But Carapaz and Movistar had unfinished business that no one remembered. The Ecuadorian left the team in a bad way”.
“After winning the Giro d'Italia and when Movistar lost Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa, Carapaz said goodbye unexpectedly. The reason? The economic power of Ineos. And this Saturday 'he paid' the price at La Covatilla, where he was going to be crowned the winner of his second grand tour. But when Roglic was at his lowest, when he was alone, Mas and Soler pulled him so that Carapaz's lead wouldn't reach 45 seconds, which would have taken away the red jersey. It reached 30... Movistar and Roglic's final sprint brought it down to 21”, it continued.
And it added: “Roglic has to rethink how a rider with the power to win four stages was going to lose the race. There hasn't been a Vuelta champion with four partial victories since 1995, when the great Laurent Jalabert did it, winning with a difference of more than four minutes. Roglic wins the Vuelta by 24 seconds... thanks to Movistar”.
The Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo stated: “What a finish to the Vuelta, when it seemed that no one was making a move, when it seemed that the attacks from the best classified cyclists in the general classification were not happening and that Primoz Roglic was going to win almost single-handedly the 2020 Vuelta, Richard Carapaz demonstrated his bravery with 3 kilometers to go and launched a devastating attack that left him on the doorstep of the Spanish tour's throne”.
El Tiempo from Colombia published: “A tremendous battle was fought in the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España with an infernal attack from Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz who tried everything to take the title from Primoz Roglic, but the Slovenian defended well”.