Pro Log: Roglič wins Vuelta, Vollering vs Kopecky (again), Astana doping case and Tour of Britain

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Pro Log: Roglič wins Vuelta, Vollering vs Kopecky (again), Astana doping case and Tour of Britain

Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. The curtain has officially come down on the last Grand Tour of the season. Primož Roglič won the Vuelta a España by 2min 36sec ahead of Ben O’Connor and 3min 13sec from Enric Mas.

Jay Vine climbed his way to the top of the mountains standings as fellow Aussie Kaden Groves won the points classification. Mattias Skjelmose was the best young rider. Elsewhere racing concluded in the Tour of Britain and women’s Tour de Romandie.

Primož Roglič wins record-equalling fourth Vuelta a España 

Roglič rode his way to a fourth Vuelta a España title this weekend, taking the maillot rojo from O’Connor on Stage 19 on the Alto de Moncalvillo. As O’Connor faded in the final stages, Roglič seemed to get stronger and stronger. By the final weekend, which involved a mountainous Stage 20 and final day individual time-trial, the outcome felt a foregone conclusion.

Roglič finished in second place on Stage 21, a day on which Groupama-FDJ’s Stefan Küng finally got his first Grand Tour stage victory. O’Connor managed to hold on for second overall. It marks the end of his tenure with Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale as he departs for Jayco-AlUla next season.

The perennial Vuelta bridesmaid, Enric Mas, who finished second in 2018, 2021 and 2022, placed third overall, seeing off all the challenges thrown at him by fourth place Richard Carapaz but not quite managing to overhaul O’Connor.

Lotte Kopecky vs Demi Vollering at the Tour de Romandie Féminin

The three-stage Tour de Romandie Féminin was won by SD Worx-Protime’s Lotte Kopecky, narrowly beating teammate Demi Vollering, with Lidl-Trek’s Gaia Realini completing the podium.

After Elisa Balsamo sprinted into the race lead on Stage 1, Stage 2 culminated with a Category 1 summit finish on Vercorin. It was in the final 2km that an attack from Realini drew out Kopecky and Vollering. The tenacious Italian kept making moves on the front to drop the SD Worx duo but couldn’t answer an attack from Vollering heading into the last kilometre.

Kopecky could though. The pair powered on towards the mountaintop finish. It went down to a sprint finish similar to Strade Bianche in 2023, both throwing their bikes to the line for stage honours, which would eventually be awarded to Vollering. It was a decent trade-off as Kopecky moved into the race lead.

Visma-Lease a Bike’s Riejanne Markus won the two-up sprint against breakaway companion and future Lidl-Trek teammate Niamh Fisher-Black as Kopecky finished third on the final day, 21sec back, to secure overall victory. Vollering was one of many riders who went down in a crash in the final kilometre, but with the 3km rule in place, her podium spot was secure.

Stevie Williams wins men’s Tour of Britain

Stevie Williams won the Tour of Britain by 16sec ahead of fellow Brit Oscar Onley and 36sec ahead of Frenchman Tom Donnenwirth over the six-stage race that ended in Felixstowe.

It was a race that brought abundance for Soudal-QuickStep’s young sprinter Paul Magnier, who scored a hattrick of victories and all but won the points jersey. His rampage was brought to a premature end with a concussion-inducing crash on the last day. Tom Pidcock was also caught in the same crash and abandoned the race. He was later diagnosed with concussion and will miss the Canadian Classics.

Astana terminate Ilkhan Dostiyev’s contract for CERA

Astana Qazaqstan Development Team have terminated the contract of Ilkhan Dostiyev after he tested positive for the banned substance CERA in July. The 22-year-old had recently participated in the Tour of Hainan and won the Turul Romaniei general classification as well as the youth and mountains standings.

The Astana Qazaqstan Development Team said, ‘Upon being notified of an Adverse Analytical Finding, the rider admitted to using the banned substance, providing explanations to the team and the UCI.

‘This news came as a shock and disappointment to us. We trusted Ilkhan Dostiyev as one of the team’s leaders and we had great expectations for him, which are now completely shattered. Given that Dostiyev has admitted to the anti-doping violation, the rider has been suspended from racing, and his contract has been immediately terminated.’

CERA is a variant of EPO, and when not being used to cheat in cycling races, it is typically used to treat anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease.

See you next week.

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