Ex-ski jumper Primoz Roglic flies high after winning Spanish Vuelta

Less than a decade ago, Primoz Roglic was flying through the air on a pair of skis with no thoughts of ever being earthbound on a bike.

On Sunday, the Slovenian claimed one of cycling’s biggest prizes, winning the three-week Spanish Vuelta.

Roglic took up cycling only in 2012 after he gave up ski jumping. He quit his first love following a harrowing crash when he lost control early in a jump, slammed into the ramp and twisted and tumbled the rest of the way down.

He found that two wheels pegged to the road were a perfect match for his slim but athletic build and became one of cycling’s rising talents, given his superb time-trial performances and his ability to hang with the best climbers in the mountains.

Now he must be counted among its best and a contender for its biggest prize: the Tour de France.

Roglic won the Vuelta after wearing the red leader’s jersey for the final 11 days, finishing more than two minutes ahead of world champion and former winner Alejandro Valverde.

It was his first Grand Tour win after the 29-year-old was fourth in the 2018 Tour de France and third in the Giro d’Italia in June. He won the six-day Basque Country Tour in 2018 and the weeklong Tirreno-Adriatico in March.

Following custom, riders respected the leader’s lead on the 21st and last stage when the race made its traditional finish in Madrid. Roglic was flanked by Jumbo-Visma teammates as they arrived in the Spanish capital.

“Thanks to everyone who was involved at the end in this big result,” Roglic told the cheering crowd from the top of the podium in the city center.

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