Roglič rides to his fourth Vuelta a España overall title(Image credit: Getty Images)
Roglič celebrates over the line in Madrid(Image credit: Getty Images)
Stefan Küng powers to the stage victory in Madrid(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ben O’Connor fights to hold onto second place overall(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) again shows off his TT prowess with another top 10(Image credit: Getty Images)
Enric Mas rides a strong time trial to protect his podium place at the Vuelta ahead of Carapaz(Image credit: Getty Images)
Matteo Cattaneo (Soudal-QuickStep) takes a brilliant top five in the final time trial(Image credit: Getty Images)
Thomas De Gendt sets off for his final Grand Tour stage(Image credit: Getty Images)
Best young rider Mattias Skjelmose moves up to fifth overall thanks to a powerful TT(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard rounds out another Grand Tour in the top five(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jay Vine goes all out in the polka-dots as the King of the Mountains(Image credit: Getty Images)
US Champion Brandon McNulty failed to repeat his stage 1 success due to a crash(Image credit: Getty Images)
Robert Gesink bids farewell to cycling and the Vuelta a España as he nears retirement(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) rides to another strong finish after igniting breaks at this year’s Vuelta(Image credit: Getty Images)
Filippo Baroncini (UAE Team Emirates) takes solid top 10 finish in Madrid(Image credit: Getty Images)
Stefan Kung storms to the finish in the Swiss national champion’s skinsuit
Victor Campenaerts rides his final Grand Tour stage for Lotto Dstny before heading for Visma-Lease a Bike next season
Points jersey winner Kaden Groves heads for the finish line in the green jersey
James Knox high-fives the crowd amid his TT effort(Image credit: Getty Images)
Luis Angel Mate completes his 12th Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Primož Roglič won a fourth Vuelta a España title on Sunday evening, sealing his fifth Grand Tour title in six years with a second-place finish in the final stage time trial in Madrid.
After claiming victory in Stage 4 at Pico Villuerca and taking the leader’s jersey, Roglič and his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team nearly lost their grip on the Vuelta when Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) broke away solo, gaining an almost five-minute lead to take over the top of the GC standings.
Roglič steadily reduced the gap, picking up seconds along the way, and by his third stage win on Stage 19, he had regained the overall lead. Roglič’s victory offered once again a sense of redemption after a major disappointment earlier in the season, coming after he withdrew from the Tour de France due to injuries sustained in a crash.
One of only two riders to break the 27-minute barrier, Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) won the final time trial with a blistering time of 26:28 on the 24.6km course. It marked the Swiss rider’s first-ever stage victory in a Grand Tour after a string of second places in recent years.
Second on the stage, Roglič was 31 seconds off the fastest time while Mattia Cattaneo (T-Rex QuickStep) claimed third, 42 seconds down.
In the fiercely contested fight for the podium, Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) came out strong, defending his second-place position and realising his dream of a Grand Tour podium. Enric Mas (Movistar) secured third place, adding to his record of three runner-up finishes at the Vuelta.
