Tour de France: Slovenia's Primoz Roglic wins stage 4
September 1, 2020
Primoz Roglic delivered on his billing as one of the favorites for the 2020 Tour with a tight win in an intriguing tactical battle in the first mountain-top finish of the Tour de France on Tuesday.
Roglic was in a packed group including last year's winner Egan Bernal, of Colombia, and France's Julian Alaphilippe but broke away in the final kilometer to beat compatriot Tadej Pogacar in to second leave Frenchman Guillaume Martin in third.
Alaphilippe's fifth-placed finish means he retains the yellow jersey ahead of Adam Yates and Roglic. Bernal sits behind them in sixth.
Roglic's participation in this year's Tour was in some doubt after a bad crash in the Criterium du Dauphine in mid-August. "Every day I feel better. It’s nice to ride a bike again," he said after Tuesday's win.
Team Ineos (formerly Team Sky) are struggling more than they have in recent years, with Roglic's Jumbo-Visma looking well-placed at this early stage.
"It was quite a fast stage, it was hard," added Roglic. "The guys did a good job. At the end I could do a nice sprint and I am very happy."
The next stage: The Tour moves in to Provence on Wednesday, with a 183-km race from Gap to Privas. This is likely to be one for the bunched sprint specialists.