Primoz Roglic gained the opening stage of the Volta a Catalunya on Monday, a hilly 164km run starting and ending in the seaside city of Sant Feliu de Guixols on the Costa Brava.
Roglic was strongest over the ultimate 200m in a barely uphill sprint for the road.
“You always hope for the best and then you have to do it,” mentioned Roglic. “I just had enough in the legs at the end.”
Remco Evenepoel was a slim and dissatisfied second.
“It’s the first time I’ve sprinted against Primoz. We had quite equal speed but I think I had to come from too far,” mentioned the Soudal-Quick Step rider. “It’s a pity to come second.”
Roglic leads Evenepoel by 4 seconds in the general standings because of bonus seconds for the win. Egan Bernal completed 20sec down.
Adam Yates hit the tarmac in a crash 5km from residence and misplaced 10 minutes, crossing the road badly grazed. His teammate Joao Almeida is nonetheless solely 10sec down in the rankings.
Tuesday’s second stage options a 2,135m altitude summit end at Vallter after a class one ascent half manner by means of the stage.
🏁 Viu de nou l’últim Km d’etapa d’avui a @Guixols!
🏁 Relive the final Km of Stage 1 with @rogla victory! @JumboVismaRoad #VoltaCatalunya102 pic.twitter.com/912dIckHto
— Volta a Catalunya (@VoltaCatalunya) March 20, 2023
