Roglic dismisses influence of motorbike in Tour de France stage victory
Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) doesn't have the pedigree of a Tour de France podium finisher, nor does he have the build of a pure climber, but the Slovenian claimed victory on the race's final Pyrenean stage to make a significant down payment on a place in the top three in Paris.
Friday's trek from Lourdes to Laruns by way of the Col d'Aspin, Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque all but confirmed that this Tour will have a surprise winner in the shape of Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), and the Welshman looks likely to be flanked on the Champs-Élysées by a man who only took up cycling at the age of 22 after a previous existence as a junior world champion ski jumper. It's been a curious sort of a Tour.
Already winner of the Tour of the Basque Country and Tour de Romandie this season, Roglic showcased his prodigious strength once again on the Aubisque, where he pummelled the yellow jersey group with his forcing as though he were working a punch bag. The offensive continued on the sweeping, mist-shrouded descent, and 10km from home, he slipped away alone into the gloom, never to be seen again.
Roglic reached Laruns 19 seconds clear of Thomas and the rest of the GC contenders, but while he was being feted on the podium, Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) was lamenting how the Slovenian had benefited from the slipstream of the television motorbike to forge clear on the way down the Aubisque.
"I don't think so. It's hard to comment – I don't have influence on that," Roglic said. "We all have the same possibility to go down in first place, and I was not on the moto. I didn't notice anything unusual."
Dumoulin had been careful to note that his ire was not directed at Roglic, whom he described as the strongest rider on the day, but at the television motorbike's positioning and the advantage he felt the Slovenian had inadvertently gained from it. The influence of motorbikes on the race was an issue already raised by Dan Martin (UAE-Team Emirates) following stage 15.
Podium on the cards
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