The Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) won the first stage on Monday of the back to cataloniadisputed in a circuit of 164.6 kilometers with start and finish in Sant Feliu de Guíxolsand he is the first leader of a Catalan round that started off rough and with a massive fall that shook the approach to the finish line.

From this Volta it is expected to see a great duel between Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoelthe two great stars of this 102nd edition and who in principle they will fight to wear pink in the next Giro from Italy. But what did not enter into many pools was to see a face to face between the two in this first stage.

In an edition with three grand finalsthis arrival in Sant Feliu could be for a leak or for the few sprinters present in the race. But not. Shortly after the road goes up, the “roosters” appear and Roglic won the first stage in an electric and close sprint against Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step).

Roglic was in a good position and was the strongest, yes, but the sprint was close to making him long. From behind, despite starting the final battle very far from the Slovenian, the current world champion overtook rivals (and even a teammate) to reach Roglic and fell two meters away from being the first winner of the Volta.

Third was the Dutch Ide Schelling (BORA-hansgrohe), with the Belgian Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) fourth and Italian Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) fifth. Although there was no other fight than the one led by Roglic and Evenepoel, who will face each other again this Tuesday, except for surprise, on the ascent to Vallter, the first mountain pass of the race.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE 1ST STAGE

1 – ROGLIC Primoz (Jumbo-Visma) 3:48:17

2 – EVENEPOEL Remco (Soudal – Quick Step) mt

3 – SCHELLING Side (BORA – hansgrohe) mt

4 – VAN GILS Maxim (Lotto Dstny) mt

5 – CICCONE Giulio (Trek – Segafredo) mt

6 – HAYTER Ethan (INEOS Grenadiers) mt

7 – GODON Dorian (AG2R Citroën Team) mt

8 – VAN WILDER Ilan (Soudal – Quick Step) mt

9 – MENTEN Milan (Lotto Dstny) mt

10 – COQUARD Bryan (Cofidis) mt

GENERAL RANKING

1 – ROGLIC Primoz (Jumbo-Visma) 3:48:07

2 – EVENEPOEL Remco (Soudal – Quick Step) +0:04

3 – SCHELLING Ide (BORA – hansgrohe) +0:06

4 – VAN GILS Maxim (Lotto Dstny) +0:10

5 – CICCONE Giulio (Trek – Segafredo) mt

6 – HAYTER Ethan (INEOS Grenadiers) mt

7 – GODON Dorian (AG2R Citroën Team) mt

8 – VAN WILDER Ilan (Soudal – Quick Step) mt

9 – MENTEN Milan (Lotto Dstny) mt

10 – COQUARD Bryan (Cofidis) mt

Source: Eitb

Kingston

Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.