Even being battered after a crash, Roglic and BORA send a strong message with a dominant victory: "He can win the Tour"

Just a day after the drama in the Dauphiné, the sixth stage in France resumed as usual because the race waits for no one. Primoz Roglic knows this all too well, having had to withdraw due to injuries numerous times while the rest continued. Despite being involved in Thursday's crash, the Slovenian from BORA-hansgrohe still had the best legs on an uphill finish. He broke away from the pack, a victory he said he really needed.

Roglic made his move on the final climb of the day, following an attack by Giulio Ciccone. Aleksandr Vlasov was already ahead and waited for his team leader. After the Russian exhausted himself, Roglic was able to create a decisive gap from Ciccone, who finished second. "It took me a while to get here to the mixed zone because my left shoulder is quite limited. I was struggling with it all day, but my legs undoubtedly worked," he chuckled during the flash interview, referring to his fall the day before.

"Winning a race, it’s been a while," Roglic continued. He didn't count his recent time trial win in the Tour of the Basque Country. "The team has been working hard from day one, and even after we all crashed yesterday, they performed brilliantly today. We can enjoy this, and winning the Dauphiné would be a nice bonus." He reiterated these thoughts later in the mixed zone. "I'm not concerned about the classification; this was just the first mountain stage. The most important thing is to stay on the bike and get rhythm in my legs."

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Vlasov embraces his role as Roglic's super-domestique

TVlasov played a crucial role in the stage win, which was an understatement. "We decided in the morning that we would see how everyone felt on the final climb, as we didn't know after Thursday’s crash. Primoz then asked me to attack, so I did," he explained plainly to Eurosport.

"When I saw him break away, I pushed hard to the finish to gain as much time as possible," continued Vlasov, who said he enjoys supporting his team leader. "He's said the general classification isn't his main goal, but if you can win, why not? It's great to help him. He can win the Tour, so it's fantastic to play a significant role in that."