TakeVuelta5 weeks ago
Roglič had the queen stage, ideal terrain, and one deficit to close: 1:37. He gained nothing on the road and lost 38 more seconds instead. This was never Mas cracking under pressure — it was Roglič with no attack left to throw.
A car accident before the Vuelta cost Roglič five weeks of prep, and the pattern held through the hardest stage of the race: no real move, just damage control on an 8km climb averaging 9.8%. Mas started the day 1:37 clear and finished it 2:15 clear. Felix Gall, not Roglič, was the rider who actually moved forward on the mountain, closing to within 29 seconds of second place. Four Vuelta titles clearly weren't going to produce a fifth from a rider who never had the legs to go looking for it.
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