Sporza guy De Cauwer on Roglic: "He didn't give me a very good impression, I see problems looming"

In the Vuelta a España, riders will probably enjoy Monday's day of rest to the fullest. For the analysts, a preliminary balance can be drawn after nine stages. Even Sporza guys José De Cauwer and Renaat Schotte—with their experience, they know the ins and outs by now—attempted this.

A simple opening question. "Will Ben O'Connor win this Tour of Spain?" began Schotte immediately after the mountain stage won by Adam Yates. "I thought I would get some clarity in this stage, but it's one question mark after another. I have no question marks only with Enric Mas," De Cauwer said. Indeed, Movistar's Spanish frontman seemed to be flying and was the only one who appeared to be able to follow top favorite Primoz Roglic in the stages before. "With Roglic, I see problems looming. He should have been able to follow Mas."

Then, Ben O'Connor still has a nice lead in the GC. "With an outstanding Felix Gall close to him, he has a strong team at his disposal," said De Cauwer, who also expects something from Richard Carapaz, who launched a successful surprise attack on day nine. "That attack took a lot of energy. The question is whether he can do this several times. Now, Carapaz is a formidable attacker. This is not someone who will just fall through the ice. It's a very open Vuelta a España."

Finally, the men talked again about Roglic: was that the Slovenian's bad day, or was this the beginning of the end? "Roglic didn't give me an excellent impression," De Cauwer indicated. "He should be able to follow Mas when he goes on that steep stretch. Roglic does have to take time on O'Connor, lol. But he didn't try to go with him yet. Normally, he has to do it himself, but now Roglic is given the moment just like that. And he doesn't follow. So he's not good enough to take time on O'Connor."