Roglic wins first battle against Evenepoel, Schelling third in Catalonia | Cycling

Mar 20, 2023 at 5:10 PMUpdate: 12 minutes ago

Primoz Roglic won the first stage in the Tour of Catalonia on Monday. In the final sprint he was too fast for his major competitor Remco Evenepoel and the Dutchman Ide Schelling. Jetse Bol rode in the attack all day and thus conquered the first polka dot jersey.

In the first stage of the Spanish stage race to and from Sant Feliu de Guíxols, it was 164.6 kilometers up and down. Due to a crash in the last 6 kilometers, a small peloton headed for the finish. The last kilometer went up another 4 percent.

Koen Bouwman started the sprint for Roglic, who had to start early. The leader of Jumbo-Visma surprisingly fought the first duel with Evenepoel, who crossed the line just a little later than the Slovenian.

Schelling finished third and seems to be back at the highest level after a mediocre year due to health problems. The 25-year-old Schelling already showed his form in the Tour of Oman, with a podium finish in the fourth stage.

Bol captured the first polka dot jersey. The 33-year-old Dutchman rode in the leading group from the start and collected the most points for the mountain jersey (eleven) on the four climbs. Miquel Pau is second in that ranking with eight points, the Belgian Rune Herregodts follows with six points.

Robert Gesink returned to the peloton on Monday after a pelvic fracture suffered during the Tour down-under in January. In Spain, the 36-year-old Jumbo-Visma rider is employed by Roglic, who is the favorite for the overall victory in addition to Evenepoel. The Tour of Catalonia has seven mountainous stages and lasts until Sunday.

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