'He can barely walk' - Primoz Roglic in 'quite some pain' after Vuelta crash, says Jumbo-Visma team-mate
Published 07/09/2022 at 12:50 GMT
Primoz Roglic looked set to star in a blockbuster final week against Remco Evenepoel, only to suffer a bizarre crash in the closing metres of Stage 16 to undo all his good work. Although the Slovenian remounted to cross the line, bloodied and bruised, he withdrew early on Wednesday on account of his injuries. Team-mate Mike Teunissen said he could “barely walk” after the incident.
Primoz Roglic can “barely walk” after the heavy crash that ended his hopes of a fourth-straight Vuelta title, Jumbo-Visma team-mate Mike Teunissen revealed ahead of Stage 17.
The Slovenian contrived to bizarrely crash in the sprint tear-up on Tuesday as he fought for victory and bonus seconds, just minutes after his sensational attack saw him open up a gap on his GC rivals.
Although he remounted to cross the finish wounded and bloodied, he abandoned ahead of Wednesday’s run to Monasterio de Tentudia.
Teunissen said that Roglic apologised to his team-mates before pulling out of the race.
“After the finish he looked quite devastated,” he said.
“Back in the hotel, you could see it had more impact than everyone had thought, also mentally of course. So we were already quite uncertain about it.
“Then this morning we got the news that it was too bad, he can barely walk and already went to hospital. Physically and also mentally it must be really hard for him.”
Teunissen continued: “He came to breakfast to say that he was in quite some pain and that he had to leave the Vuelta. He was kind of apologising but we said that’s totally not necessary.
“For him it must be the biggest disappointment and not the first one of course. So it’s really a big shame for everyone, but mainly for him and his family.
“He’s been working hard for this one since July, we were all really looking forward to the next days. We showed some fighting spirit, he showed some fighting spirit, and this Vuelta was certainly not over.
“Also for the next days we had some quite nice things planned but that all disappears now and like I said, it’s a disappointment for this race, for the team, but mainly for him.
“I’m really feeling sorry for him and wishing him all the best and hopefully he will come back stronger.”
Roglic clawed back eight seconds on Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) after being awarded the same time as winner Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) despite his crash.
He was even briefly promoted into the overall lead after Evenepoel lost time due to a puncture as confusion reigned, but the standings were soon corrected due to the Belgian pulling up inside the final 3km 'safety net' at the end of the stage.
With Roglic out, the 22-year-old Evenepoel looks poised to win his first-ever Grand Tour. The Belgian heads the general classification by a margin of 2’01” from Enric Mas (Movistar).
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