MOS, Spain — Primoz Roglic has only the decisive stage’s time trial standing in the way of his third consecutive Spanish Vuelta title after finishing the rugged 20th stage runner-up to Clement Champoussin on Saturday.
Roglic leads Enric Mas by 2 1/2 minutes heading to Sunday’s time trial over 34 kilometers (21 miles) from Padrón to the medieval city of Santiago de Compostela, destination of the St. James Way pilgrimage trail.
Roglic is favored to hold onto his commanding lead, despite his bad memories from the 2020 Tour de France, where he lost the yellow jersey on a decisive time trial to fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.
Roglic won the time trial gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the Vuelta’s first time trial on its opening stage. Mas, however, is a pure climber. The Spaniard has said a podium finish would be a good result for his Movistar team.
Champoussin claimed the difficult 202-kilometer (125-mile) ride in Spain’s northwest from Sanxenxo to Mos in 5 hours, 21 minutes, 50 seconds. The French rider for AG2R blew past Roglic, Mas and two other riders who were caught off guard with less than two kilometers left on the final ascent.
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
