Primož Roglič’s (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) relentless campaign to regain the red jersey at the Vuelta a España stepped up several notches at Cazorla as the Slovenian powered away from leader Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) to regain almost a minute, and perhaps even more importantly, major momentum prior to Sunday’s key high mountain stage through Sierra Nevada.
Roglič had already fired off a warning shot when he put his team to work on Friday’s lone and relatively straightforward ascent of the Alto del 14% and snatched some bonus seconds late on the stage. But the collective pressure that his squad used on O'Connor was nothing like as effective as the blizzard of attacks that the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe racer launched on the viciously-irregular final ascent at Cazorla.
Triple Vuelta runner-up Enric Mas (Movistar) was able to latch onto Roglič’s back wheel as Roglič finally went clear at the finish. But the Slovenian’s imperious move put all the other GC rivals into the hurt locker, including O'Connor.
“I was suffering quite a bit, it was hard today, but at the end, the opportunity was there and I went for it,” Roglič told reporters afterwards.
“I had the legs, and I was lucky. For sure today was a good stage, but maybe tomorrow [Sunday] I will lose ten minutes - we’ll see.”
Spanish TV commentators were rooting strongly for Mas in the finish, but unlike on stage 4 when Roglic arguably got a little lucky after Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) raised his arm too soon. This time there was really no competition at all in the dash for the line. Mas was easily put to the sword and Roglic’s 14th Vuelta stage win was in the bag.
Thanks to the time bonuses and his cracking notably on the climb, O’Connor lost almost a minute on Roglič. The Australian is still nearly four minutes ahead, but on Sunday's tougher, longer, climbs - where O'Connor in theory, is more in his element - after Cazorla his grip on red has been shaken notably. For now, in any case, Roglič is once again making the running in the Vuelta.
Roglič said he was still noticing the pain from his back injury, although so far it has not stopped him from being the best-placed GC finisher in the opening TT and then winning two out of three summit finishes in the first week. But he recognised that having won in Cazorla, he had “lots of ambition” for Sunday.
“I’m trying to do the best I can and go all out every day,” Roglič said. “I just have to see how I can respond to all of this [racing] physically and how it affects my body after a hard period with my injury.
“I still feel the pain, but we just enjoyed today - Voila.”
The heat has once again played its part in the day’s racing, and when asked how he was handling it, Roglič delivered one of his classic deadpan responses.
“I’m also not cold, it’s just hot right now, eh?
“I try to drink as much as possible but you have to accept it. And obviously for me, it’s definitely better hotter than when it’s cold.”
Sunday’s temperatures are once again forecast to rise to at least 37°C in Granada, and out in the mountains it could be even warmer. But to judge by Saturday’s performance at least, it’ll take more than some extreme heat to stop Roglič from going on the rampage again.
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