Primoz Roglic hints that team-mates ignored orders on Vuelta a Espana Stage 19 - 'I will not say their names'

Published 06/09/2024 at 17:48 GMT

Primoz Roglic's solo victory on Stage 19 at the Vuelta a Espana secured him the leader's red jersey, but his post-race interview hinted at tension within the Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe camp. Roglic suggested some team-mates ignored his instructions to ease up, forcing him to change tactics. "I will not say their names," Roglic said after securing the 40th red jersey of his career at the Grand Tour.

'We don’t listen, we push' – Roglic exposes team split after taking red jersey

Primoz Roglic hinted at friction within his Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe team after his stunning solo win on Stage 19 at the Vuelta a Espana, which catapulted him into the leader's red jersey.

Moments after the triumph, Roglic suggested his team-mates had ignored his instructions to go easier on Friday's run to Alto de Moncalvillo.

Roglic's outfit rode hard on the front from the outset, keeping the breakaway on a tight leash, before Dani Martinez and Aleksandr Vlasov ramped up the intensity on the final climb.

Vuelta a España

'It's never enough' - Roglic celebrates 'crazy' fourth Vuelta win but wants more

08/09/2024 at 19:57

Vlasov dropped Roglic off with 5km remaining, leaving the Slovenian free to sail away to victory and close on a fourth Vuelta crown.

However, in a candid post-race interview, Roglic revealed internal disagreements and said he had to yield to his team's demands.

Asked if the strategy was to set a relentless pace from the start and attack at the 6km mark, Roglic huffed: "I mean, not really. I said 'I don't need the stage'.

"I will not say their names but some guys decided that 'we don't listen, we push, we have nothing else to do'. In the end I had to make a call and I said, 'OK, at least we have to be all on the same side.' Then we go for it."

While Roglic acknowledged that the race was "far from over", he expressed surprise at the time gap he had built on his rivals.

"I was [almost] five minutes behind, so I'm happy with the way I'm functioning. And definitely happy with the guys," he said.

'They should listen exactly to what he wants to do'

'They should listen' - Red Bull approach questioned despite Roglic win

Roglic leads the general classification by 1'54" from Ben O'Connor (Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale), with Enric Mas (Movistar) at 2'20" and Richard Carapaz (EF Education–EasyPost) at 2'54".

But with the queen stage to come in the mountains on Saturday, plus the race-concluding individual time trial in Madrid, Roglic's desire for an easier day was not unfounded.

"That's crazy," said Eurosport expert and former Olympic champion Dani Rowe on The Breakaway. "If he's the leader in a team going for the red jersey, they should listen exactly to what he wants to do."

Some 5000m of vertical gain, spread across seven categorised climbs, is crammed into just 172km on Stage 20, meaning the red-jersey battle is far from a done deal.

"It sounded like his team wanted to ride and he didn't want to ride that hard for the stage win, but they did anyway," said Adam Blythe.

"By the sound of it, he had to get onboard with what they wanted."

He added: "Normally you would do what the leader wants you to do. But you can't really argue with the outcome today."

Roglic has overturned an almost five-minute deficit in GC to overhaul O'Connor and is now set to roll out on Saturday in the 40th red jersey of his career.

Stream the Vuelta a Espana live on discovery+

Vuelta a España