Roglic avoids 'unnecessary bad things' to extend Giro d’Italia lead

The pink jersey rests a little more snugly on the shoulders of Primož Roglič, who avoided the crashes that blighted the run-in to Frascati on stage 4 to extend his lead atop the overall standings at the Giro d’Italia to 35 seconds over Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).

Roglič’s late conversion from ski jumping to cycling has been cited ad nauseum in the run-up to this race, but it is worth noting that he has rarely betrayed signs of neophyte inexperience in his three years at WorldTour level to date. The Slovenian, it seems, is a quick learner.

The maglia rosa was carefully installed at the head of the bunch when it was split by Salvatore Puccio’s crash with six kilometres remaining, and he immediately sensed the opportunity that presented itself, surging towards the front of the suddenly diminished front group.

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“I guess I was more in the front because I didn’t see any of the crashes,” Roglič said afterwards. “The thing is, all us GC guys are in the front and fighting to be in front to avoid all these unnecessary bad things can happen. That’s why it’s always a big fight to be up there.”

Only seven riders remained by the time they hit the short haul towards the finish line in Frascati, and while Roglič was unable to track Richard Carapaz’s winning move in the final 600 metres, his day was already a success.

“Yeah for sure I wanted to go for the stage but for me it was already enough to be in the front on a finish like that,” Roglič said. “I was happy with my position and the place where I was.”

Holding form – and luck

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