Take2 weeks ago
Weeks before Stage 4, Roglič's Vuelta start was rated 50/50 and his own team was urging "realism" — he finished seventh on the first mountain test and sits second overall, 3:21 back. The doubt had no race to stand on.
Roglič was hit by a car in late July, injured his left thigh, and missed both the Clásica de San Sebastián and the Vuelta a Burgos. His post-stage words close the gap between that moment and now with unusual precision: «A few weeks ago I couldn't even pedal. I'm happy, completely exhausted but happy to be here. I'm always here to win.» Sports director Sven Vanthourenhout had framed the race as a recovery exercise; 104.8 km and 3,000m of climbing in Andorra turned it into something else.
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