Success for Roglic after another close sprint with Ayuso: "We're on the same level, right?"

While Juan Ayuso managed to surprise yesterday, it was Primoz Roglic who came out on top Thursday. The Slovenian got his revenge in the tough uphill finish of the Tour of Catalonia, where he edged out the young Spaniard in a sprint-à-deux. Thanks to a bonus sprint earlier in the stage, the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe leader also takes over the leader’s jersey—albeit with the same time as his rival.

Roglic was thrilled to get his revenge, especially after such a grueling stage. "It was a tough day, and pretty annoying," the Slovenian said in the flash interview. "The pace was high all day, with wind. UAE kept things fast, but I still had something left at the end—so I won, right?" After an intense final few kilometers, the two rivals didn’t give each other an inch. It came down to a sprint, and Roglic had the better kick.

He's now hoping to take home his second overall win in Catalonia, but Ayuso isn't making it easy. "Definitely not. There are still some hard days coming, but for now, it’s going well. We’re in a good position. We’re taking it day by day and we’ll see what it all means in the end. Right now, the gaps are very small. You never know—he might gain minutes, I might gain minutes, or someone else. We’ll see."

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Roglic sacrificed a lot this winter: "Nice to get something in return"

Speaking to Cycling Pro, the always honest and likeable Primoz Roglic explained why this win feels particularly rewarding right now. “It’s always great to win, and I’m really happy it worked out. Like I said, I was at a training camp where I put in some solid rides. I spent three weeks on El Teide (a volcano in Tenerife), and then came straight here. I gave up four weeks with my family, so it’s nice to get something back for it.”

On Wednesday, Roglic had lost by just a few centimeters to his rival from UAE Team Emirates-XRG. “Today was a slightly better sprint, I think. But that’s sport, that’s sprinting—sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I was just glad I had the legs at the end. Today I was a bit faster, or the others were a bit slower—I don’t know,” he laughed. With two tough stages still ahead, the battle with Ayuso is heating up. “We’re equals, right? Yesterday he won by a hair, today it was me. That’s fun.”

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