• Previous Roglic's challenge to sit next to Rominger and Heras

The prologue is a discipline that tenses the spirits of cyclists who aspire to a place of honor in the general. They know that they have hardly anything to gain in such low mileage, but in return they have a lot to lose, be it from a fall, from a dog that crosses the road - yes, that happened yesterday, without incident - or from a bad day that put more doubts in their heads than recommended when there are still 20 stages ahead of them until the end of the season. Or for being late, ask

Perico Delgado

-it is not necessary to remember Luxembourg- or even Mikel Landa, who this Saturday hurried to get on the goat, just four or five seconds after his departure, after climbing, bicycle on his shoulder, the steps that led to the main entrance of the cathedral de Burgos, the sacred launch site of this Tour of the Cathedrals that will end in three weeks in Santiago de Compostela.

To all these factors was added this Saturday the torrid heat that hit Burgos, like almost the entire peninsula. You will not find a doctor who recommends nine minutes of maximum effort at 35 degrees, but La Vuelta and Spain in August have these things. "You feel like your body is going to explode," summarized

Gesink

, one of Roglic's trusted gregarious. A

Roglic

to whom everything seems to give him the same, winner and first leader of this Vuelta, who continues to sweep in a test that he has turned into his playground.

He was, as tradition dictates, the last to start in a chrono that, although short, barely seven kilometers had more science than it seemed. It was not the Alto del Castillo, promoted in the initial 2.5, the key to success, but what I expected afterwards, a technical descent and a stroll back to the cathedral. It was not enough to be a specialist, although Roglic, the recent Olympic champion, was. Studying each curve was essential for success.

Alex Aranburu

knew it and, although he is far from being a typical time trialist - a ninth was his best position in his 26 previous professional times - he is one of those cyclists who knows how to detect the opportunities that are presented to him. He went for the stage with determination and was about to achieve it, after a prodigious performance. Only Roglic lifted him from the chair in which he had been waiting for the outcome for an hour and a half, checking how no one was capable of overthrowing him. The great king of the Vuelta had to arrive to achieve it and leave him thus without the victory of his life.

The rest of the favorites, all called to minimize losses, were between 14 and 27 seconds behind Roglic who, like last year, grabbed the red on the first occasion he had.

The main exception was Landa, who, still short of form, gave up 39 seconds, a poor result.

Things were much better for

Enric Mas

, whose loss of 18 seconds fit the most optimistic of scenarios.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Back to Spain

CyclingFrom the Cathedral of Burgos to that of Santiago: a lot of cycling and no night parties

Vuelta a España Roglic's challenge to sit next to Rominger and Heras

Tokyo Games Spain's tactic in search of the first medal: Valverde, four lone wolves and a Japanese mini Mortirolo

See links of interest

  • Last News

  • Translator

  • Tokyo Results

  • 2021 business calendar

  • Home THE WORLD TODAY

  • Master investigative journalism

  • Manchester United - Leeds United

  • 1. FC Union Berlin - Bayer 04 Leverkusen

  • DSC Arminia Bielefeld - Sport-Club Freiburg

  • FC Augsburg - TSG Hoffenheim

  • VfB Stuttgart - SpVgg Greuther Fürth