Primož Roglič missed on the stage victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné in the mist enshrouded Col de la Loge but showed he is on form as the Tour de France nears and grabbed some precious bonus seconds.
Roglič finished second to Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) who emerged first from the mist to catch Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and beat him in a surge to the uphill finish.
The Critérium du Dauphiné, which Roglič won overall in 2022, is his first race back since he was caught up in the mass Itzulia Basque Country crash.
Fresh off an altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain but with minimal racing so far this season, Roglič admitted that he feels “the season has yet to start.”
Roglič has traced for just 14 days so far in 2024 but opted not to rush his return after the Itzulia Basque Country crash. After his move from Jumbo-Visma to Bora-Hansgrohe, Roglič is fully focused on the Tour de France.
“There was no point in starting earlier after my fall. It wouldn’t have done me any good, because there are no easy races these days,” he said.
As Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Tuesday, Roglič’s injuries from the crash were not minor, even if he was lucky enough not to suffer any fractures like Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel. For ten days he did not ride a bike, his first training session was a scant 10 minutes and he had to use running shoes rather than usual bike shoes to minimise the pain.
“He had severe bruises all over his body, the impact of the fall was very great," Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Rolf Aldag told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Even if you haven't broken any bones like him, it takes time to recover.”
Fortunately the Tour de France and Roglič’s overall ambitions were not at risk.
“No one was worried. It was still a long time until July and the start of the Tour de France. There was time to recover, rebuild, do an altitude training and be ready again,” Aldag explained.
Missing was the chance to race with his new Bora-Hansgrohe teammates.
“We are not stressing,” Aldag said of Roglič’s expected performance in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
“Of course Primoz will want to test his legs and see where he stands. But he doesn’t have to win the Dauphiné. If the results do come, it will be proof for us that we are doing well as a team. We’re focussed on process, consistency, being sure people know their role. Hopefully that’ll bring us the results.”
Roglič impressed on the first uphill finish of the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Teammates Alexsandr Vlasov and Jai Hindley could be seen upping the tempo in the peloton on the grinding ascent of the Col de la Loge. After Armirail was caught within sight of the line, Roglič came within a whisker of taking what would have been just the second Dauphiné stage of his career.
“It was a close thing,” the Bora-Hansgrohe leader said. “But it was hard to judge at the end [and read] the overall situation, it was a big group.”
“Everyone is super-fit and at the end, one was faster.”
