Roglič and Pogačar secure historic double Slovenian stage win at Tour de France
Briançon, 1 September - Slovenia's cycling star Primož Roglič won the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, while Tadej Pogačar in second place helped secure a historic double win for Slovenia.
Verona, Italy
Slovenian cyclist Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).
Photo: Anže Malovrh/STA
Roglič, the Vuelta a Espana champion who is also among the prime candidates for final overall victory at the Tour, won the uphill sprint in Orcieres-Merlette in the Alps after 160.5 kilometres of racing that began in Sisteron.
While this is the third individual stage victory at the Tour for Roglič, who also clinched wins in 2017 and 2018, the 30-year-old did not yet secure the yellow jersey of the overall leader.
The Jumbo-Visma captain advanced to third place, three seconds behind Britain's Adam Yates and seven seconds behind French rider Julian Alaphilippe.
"It was quite a fast day actually, quite hard, but the guys did a very good job again, I was in a good position all along. At the end I was able to deliver a nice sprint, so I'm very happy," Roglič said after the race.
He added he did not really care that the yellow jersey was not his yet. What is important is that "we stayed safe and at the end even won".
As for his continuing recovery after a crash two weeks ago, he said "I'm coming back ... I feel a little better every day, it's nice to ride a bike again".
Meanwhile, Pogačar, a 21-year-old member of UAE Team Emirates, consolidated his fourth position overall and donned the white jersey of the best young rider.
According to public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, Pogačar became the youngest holder of the white jersey in the last 32 years.