Primož Roglič quits the Tour de France to let injuries heal
The Slovenian has been suffering with injuries that have lingered since his stage 5 crash.
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Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) has quit the Tour de France ahead of stage 15, citing the injuries he picked up in an opening-week crash as the reason behind his departure.
Roglič has been a key support rider for Jonas Vingegaard in the last week and was instrumental in setting up the stage 11 match-up with Tadej Pogačar that saw Vingegaard take yellow.
The 32-year-old crashed heavily inside the final 30 kilometers of stage 5 after a race motorbike seemed to clip a haybale on the side of the road and pushed it into the path of the oncoming riders.
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Roglič was caught up in the ensuing crash and dislocated his shoulder in the fall, in addition to other scrapes and bruises. He put his shoulder back in himself and rode to the finish with the help of teammates but lost a significant amount of time because of it.
“To allow my injuries to heal properly, we have decided that I won’t start today,” Roglič said. “I’m proud of my contribution to the current standings and I trust that the team will realize our yellow and green ambitions. Thanks to everybody for your great support.”
Vingegaard goes into the final stage of the second week with a 2:22 lead over Pogačar in the overall standings. All of that advantage was taken in a single day, stage 11 over the Col du Galibier and up to the summit finish of the Col du Granon.
After dramatically cracking on the Granon, Pogačar cited his eagerness to chase down the repeated attacks of Roglič and Vingegaard over the Galibier as part of the reason behind it. Jumbo-Visma had decided to sacrifice Roglič’s chances of salvaging a solid GC place to draw out Pogačar and the Slovenian went all-in on the plan.
It worked and it put Vingegaard into the yellow jersey with a solid lead to defend. The departure of Roglič will be a blow to Jumbo-Visma’s overall hopes but the team still has strength in numbers going into the final week.
“It’s a shame to lose him for his strength and the atmosphere on the team, but knowing the injuries that he has it was just too much to keep him going,” Roglič’s teammate Sepp Kuss said at the start of stage 15. “He’s an amazing teammate. What he did on stage 11 was a turning point for the race. He’s already done so much.
“I think we still have a really strong team. Of course, you miss the power of someone like Primož but that’s also part of the Tour. You can always lose really important guys.”
Roglič will now likely turn his focus on the Vuelta a España, where he has won the last three editions. He is one of only three riders to win the race in three consecutive seasons and he could equal the all-time victory haul of Roberto Heras if he takes a fourth overall title later this summer.
🇫🇷 #TDF2022
Primoz about his #DNS in stage 15 @LeTour
“I’m proud of my contribution to the current standings and I trust that the team will realise our yellow and green ambitions. Thanks to everybody for your great support.” pic.twitter.com/aw0juGFWwO
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) July 17, 2022