Roglic gives nothing away at Giro d'Italia
Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) had the look of a man who was already questioning the benefits of wearing the maglia rosa at this early stage of the Giro d'Italia by the time it came to his third live television interview after stage 2 in Fucecchio.
A resounding winner of the opening time trial in Bologna, Roglič finished safely in the main peloton on Sunday afternoon to retain the overall lead, 19 seconds clear of Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and 23 ahead of Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).
Nibali was a guest on RAI television's Processo alla Tappa post-stage analysis show, and so after putting on a fresh pink jersey and uncorking the day's bottle of prosecco on the podium, Roglič was patched through via an earpiece to offer a brief assessment of the home favourite's talents.
"Yeah, of course. He's a big champion. He's won a lot of big races. Hopefully we'll have a big fight," Roglič said dutifully, before downplaying the idea that he feared Nibali or any rival in particular. "I think you don't need to have fear. We just like to race. That's all we can do."
At his press conference later, Roglič would reach for a variation on the same answer when asked to rate the threat posed by Yates, the man who came closest to matching his infernal rhythm on the time trial that finished atop the Colle della Guardia on Saturday evening. "Of course, there's a lot of good riders in the peloton. I don't think about anybody in particular," he said. "We just try to stay focused on our job and leave it at that."
Jumbo-Visma's job on Sunday afternoon was to ensure Roglič finished safely alongside all of the main contenders for final overall victory on a stage where rain showers rendered some descents rather more treacherous than advertised in the road book.
Like Bugno in 1990?
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