Slovenian Primoz Roglic had closed the gap on stage 15 of the Vuelta a España and was already less than a minute behind Australian Ben O’Connor, leader of the general classification. But now, due to a decision by the stewards, he lost a good part of the time he had made up at the finish.
According to the criteria of
Roglic finished fifth in the stage that ended in Cuitu Negru and gained 38 seconds on O’Connor, reducing his gap in the general classification to 42 seconds.
However, this Sunday, Roglic was given a 20-second penalty for driving behind a vehicle for almost a minute, which is prohibited.
The Slovenian had changed his bike for another with a more suitable gearing for the extremely tough finish of the queen stage of the race.
Now, because of the sanction, O’Connor’s gap over second-placed Roglic increased to one minute and three seconds, while the Slovenian is now just one minute and 20 seconds ahead of third-placed Spaniard Enric Mas.
Primoz Roglic is calm despite the 20-second penalty
Despite the punishment he received, Roglic was satisfied with what he achieved in Sunday’s stage.
“It was a good performance after a difficult stage and week. But it’s good to gain time rather than lose it, isn’t it? It was difficult,” he said.
Ben O’Connor and Primoz Roglic
Photo:
Roglic and Mas crossed the finish line together, after the former attacked him and tried to gain more time, without success.
“Enric Mas has been strong and is in good shape. You don’t want to hit your head against the wall by letting yourself get carried away by the obligation to take the red jersey. I’m happy with my performance,” he concluded.
SPORTS
With Efe
More Sports News
#Vuelta #España #Primoz #Roglic #lost #time #Ben #OConnor #general #classification #due #penalty
