Vuelta a Espana 2021: Primoz Roglic can rival Tadej Pogacar at 2022 Tour de France – Bradley Wiggins

ByBen Snowball

Published 05/09/2021 at 21:27 GMT

"He’s just a phenomenal performer and maybe in some ways a better performer than Tadej Pogacar. He’s someone who could challenge him next year. The way he’s ridden this race, those two together, it’s going to be a fantastic Tour de France next year if we see Primoz on this form," said Wiggins on The Breakaway as La Vuelta came to a close.

Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) is an “absolute machine” capable of dethroning Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) at next year’s Tour de France, according to Eurosport expert and 2012 Tour champion Bradley Wiggins.

Roglic won his third Vuelta title on the spin on Sunday, signing off the three-week race with an explosive time trial victory.

The Slovenian finished 4:42 clear of Enric Mas (Movistar) in the general classification – the biggest winning margin at the race in 24 years.

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Roglic has bounced back superbly from disappointment at this year's Tour de France, where he withdrew days after a nasty crash. He won time trial gold at Tokyo 2020 before completing his hat-trick in Spain.

• Roglic secures Vuelta hat-trick after time trial demolition on Stage 21
• 'No, no, no!' – Panic as Roglic almost goes the wrong way

‘Oh my life!’ – Roglic wins Stage 21 time trial in style

“He’s an absolute machine. Tomorrow morning he’ll be focusing on the next one, which I imagine will be the World Championships and the time trial [later in September], which he’s got to go into now as a firm favourite,” said Wiggins on The Breakaway.

“But four stage wins, his third Vuelta, it’s only a month and a half ago we saw him on the floor at the Tour de France.

“He’s just a phenomenal performer and maybe in some ways a better performer than Tadej Pogacar.

“He’s someone who could challenge him next year. The way he’s ridden this race, those two together, it’s going to be a fantastic Tour de France next year if we see Primoz on this form.”

Pogacar has won the last two Tours, the first coming when he dramatically wrestled the yellow jersey from Roglic on the final competitive stage in 2020.

WATCH - Final stages of astonishing finish that saw Pogacar eventually beat Roglic

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) won the Giro d’Italia in May to suggest he could yet stake another claim in France, having won the title in 2019, although his mediocre showing at the Vuelta suggests he is still adrift of Slovenia’s big two.

“Rubbish, I love Tadej Pogacar,” joked Dan Lloyd, when asked if Roglic was a better performer than Pogacar.

“Those two are certainly head and shoulders above everyone else in the general classification at the moment. I’d put them above Egan Bernal, even when he’s in top form. They’re just absolutely phenomenal.”

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