Roglic sees Del Toro and Ayuso snatch bonus seconds: "Can't compete with them at the moment"

Roglic can now tick off another day before he aims to make his move in the tough final week. The former winner of the Giro d'Italia did not get involved in the Red Bull kilometer in the last ten kilometers, where opponents Juan Ayuso and Isaac del Toro snatched bonus seconds. Del Toro did the same at the finish, finishing third behind Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Wout van Aert of Visma | Lease a Bike.

"I can't compete with them at the moment because those guys are powerful and explosive," Roglic said briefly afterward on Slovenian radio station Val 202. What is the reason for this? "I still feel pain in certain parts of my body after my crash on Sunday, but it is getting better every day." Roglic crashed in both the gravel stage and the time trial recon, but he suffers most from the first crash. The pain is mainly in his shoulder and hamstring.

On Saturday, the Giro d'Italia caravan will arrive in Slovenia, where many fans will be waiting for Roglic. "I can't wait to go to Slovenia. That day will definitely be etched in my memory," said the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe lead rider.

Finally, he also looked ahead to Sunday's stage to Asiagro, which includes the tough Monte Grappa. "That will definitely be a tough stage, with the Monte Grappa and a few tough climbs later on. But there will be many more, especially in the last week," Roglic said, clarifying where his focus lies.

Roglic is now fifth in the GC, 1.35 minutes behind Del Toro. The gap to Ayuso is 57 seconds.