Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) raced on during the final stage of Paris-Nice today for almost 70km after dislocating his shoulder in the first of two crashes he endured.
The race leader crashed on the same descent twice - with about 25km completed and again with about 25km to go to the finish - and lost over three minutes to the lead group today.
That time loss meant he slipped down the general standings, from the race lead this morning to 15th in the final general classification, some 2:13 down on race winner Max Schachmann (Bora-hansgrohe).
While Roglic was able to get back into the group after his first crash, despite dislocation his shoulder and ripping his shorts, exposing a lot of road rash, his second crash with two climbs remaining was more complicated.
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The race was on at the time, as the early breakaway was being hunted down, and though Roglic initially had some team mates with him, he quickly burned them off.
Up ahead teams like Cofidis, Ineos Grenadiers, Astana and Bora-hansgrohe were driving the pace hard, with no respite to allow the yellow jersey rejoin the group.
As the pace was on up ahead, that group continued to get smaller, with riders being dropped from it. Roglic, who continued to ride hard all the way in a desperate bid to defend yellow, picked off the riders being dropped.
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Some of those dropped riders tried to help him, but the gap between the race leader and the group ahead continued to get bigger and was 3:08 by the time he crossed the line in Levens after 92.7km of racing.
There was confusion after his second crash as the incident was not caught by the TV cameras, but it has since been confirmed he crashed on a descent and then had mechanical problems.
“It was not the stage I expected, I made some mistakes,” Roglic said at the end of the stage after congratulating Schachmann for his win, 12 months after claiming the race overall.
Roglic continued: “In the first fall I dislocated my left shoulder, then I fell again … I gave it my all, but I couldn’t catch up with the riders in front. It’s a shame, but let’s turn the page and look at the next races.”
“I would like to have a few easier days in the final
stage, but that’s the way this sport is. I will go back and fight to win
more races.
“I really gave it my all, this is how it ended. Obviously,
I am disappointed, but the world does not stop and I look forward.”
Jumbo Visma directeur Grischa Niermann said Roglic got
back on without any problem after his first crash but fell again at the very
end of the same descent on the next circuit.
He added Roglic’s chain dropped as he was trying to get going again and then the commissaires pulled the cars out of the gap between him and the group ahead. While he came to within about 20 metres of getting back, he couldn’t close the last part of the gap and was distanced.
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