Whereas nearly all of consideration was on Remco Evenepeol (Soudal-QuickStep) after his win on stage 4 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) additionally took an enormous step in his first race since Itzulia Basque Nation with third within the time trial.
Roglič was solely crushed by the ITT World Champion Evenepoel and second-placed European Champion Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) within the 34.4km race in opposition to the clock, and now sits second general simply 33 seconds off the Belgian’s lead.
It’s an enormous step in Roglič’s preparation to the Tour de France, the place he’s set to steer Bora-Hansgrohe after becoming a member of the squad from Jumbo-Visma. Nevertheless, after crashing yesterday, the Slovenian was simply happy to remain rubber-side down.
“I’m blissful, I stayed on the bike so it’s fairly the development from yesterday,” mentioned Roglič with an enormous smile to reporters together with CyclingProNet after the road. “It was all wonderful, keep on two wheels and it’s good.”
Regardless of shifting into the yellow jersey, Evenepoel did declare earlier than the race that he wasn’t heading into the Dauphiné with ambitions of going for the general. Nevertheless, this will nonetheless be the case as he and Roglič are effectively conscious that the hardest mountain levels which is able to resolve the race are but to reach on the finish of the week.
“It’s just the start, it is the primary one,” Roglič mentioned earlier than admitting that tomorrow’s stage to Saint-Priest is “simpler” with the trio of summit finishes beginning on Friday more likely to resolve the win.
The Slovenian did admit that he nonetheless wasn’t but at 100% after getting back from the mass Itzulia crash and a protracted altitude camp in Sierra Nevada with lots of Bora’s provisional Tour workforce. However he valued getting extra race expertise on the TT tools of his new workforce for 2024 and that he was racing as a substitute of coaching.
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“I put fairly some coaching in. Undoubtedly, I’m not at my finest coming right here however I feel it’s nonetheless higher to do a race than do coaching,” mentioned the 34-year-old.
“I by no means do these sorts of issues in coaching so wanted for certain. It’s fairly a change [the equipment] and really, it’s actually the primary time trial for me. Basque was extra of a prologue.”
He additionally claimed to haven’t any lingering points from the crash on stage 3 which left him with a ripped jersey and visual abrasions to his again, admitting that the legs damage extra within the full fuel 42-minute effort.
Roglič additionally wasn’t overly blissful along with his pacing, joking about how he at all times tries to get a quick begin however hasn’t managed it. Nevertheless, solely being 26 seconds behind Evenepoel and 24 on Tarling – two of the three finest TT riders on the earth – after the opening flat 10 kilometres, is way from an indication of poor type.
“I at all times attempt to begin full however I by no means succeed with it so I’m at all times higher ultimately. So fortunately, you are taking the time on the finish and never with the primary intermediate,” joked Roglič.
Alongside a powerful begin, Roglic, the Olympic ITT Champion, would solely lose 13 extra seconds by the point he reached the end, exhibiting nice indicators for the Tour. Many of the remaining GC discipline misplaced over a minute and plenty of of them two by the point they reached Neulise.
The Slovenian was fast to level out how completely different stage 4 of the Dauphiné was from the ultimate stage ITT of the 2024 Tour de France, which is able to soak up La Turbie (8.1km at 5.6%) and a part of the Col d’Eze (1.6km at 8.7%) throughout a 33.7km effort. Nevertheless, with 59 complete kilometres in opposition to the clock incoming on the Tour, Roglič appeared as if he was near approaching his finest time-trialling type.
