Can Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d turn back the clock and pull out one of the best time trials of his career?<\/p>\n
Can Enric Mas do enough to block any resurgence by the four time Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a winner?<\/p>\n
The race is heading towards the remaining three most decisive stages for the GC, with the TT being the first of those.<\/p>\n
As a result, those two questions will become more and more important as the days and hours tick down to Thursday\u2019s big time trial.<\/p>\n
The stakes couldn\u2019t be higher. And while the TT is primarily flat, the 32.5km test is the second-longest WorldTour time trial of the whole season and will give plenty of scope for time gains for the strongest riders.<\/p>\n
Many suggest this could hand Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d the advantage he has been chasing all race.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to keep doing what I do, to not give up,\u201d he told Marca<\/em>. \u201cDay after day I put everything I have.\u201d<\/p>\n The Slovenian was hit by a car during his buildup and hasn\u2019t been at full strength as a result. He freely admitted before the Vuelta that he wasn\u2019t able to train as he wished, with bruising affecting him badly.<\/p>\n Still, he\u2019s surprised himself with how well he has been going. He currently sits third overall, 2:10 behind race leader Enric Mas and four seconds behind Felix Gall, and has everything to race for.<\/p>\n \u201cI was surprised,\u201d he said, when asked about his reaction to Mas\u2019 performances.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to be as good as he is, but I know how I came to La Vuelta and how I have faced it. With rehabilitation and preparation, I\u2019m not at my best, but on a good level.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very happy. It\u2019s probably the best level I\u2019ve had this season.\u201d<\/p>\n Will it be enough? We\u2019ll see this week.<\/p>\n Rogli\u010d was the 2021 Olympic time trial champion and has won a staggering 20 TTs during his career. Four of these have been at the Vuelta. And while his most recent TT victory outside the Slovenian nationals TT victory was in 2024, he\u2019s hoping to turn back the clock and put in a huge performance on Thursday.<\/p>\n Mas is a very different type of rider.<\/p>\n He\u2019s only clocked up seven wins during his career, a fraction of the 92 nabbed by Rogli\u010d. Zero have been in time trials. In fact, his best placing in a time trial both he and Rogli\u010d competed in was a trio of ninth places.<\/p>\n Rogli\u010d has beaten him in every one of their 22 previous TT encounters.<\/p>\n Mas is, to be blunt, not a good time trialist.<\/p>\n Still, he does have over two minutes of a buffer. What can we expect?<\/p>\n The biggest clue is the stage 1 TTT in Monaco at the start of the race. Mas finished back in 50th place. Rogli\u010d, still struggling due to the injuries he brought into the race, was 24th.<\/p>\n He took 11 seconds out of Mas over the 9.4km distance. Thursday\u2019s TT is slightly more than three times as long; even so, making up two minutes seems highly unlikely.<\/p>\n Even Rogli\u010d agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d he replied, when asked if the time trial would be enough to overturn things. \u201cThe rivals are going very fast and I\u2019m losing time. Every second I can gain before the time trial will be good. There is little and much left at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n He emphasizes he is not throwing in the towel and that he will keep trying. Picking up time bonuses or opening a gap beforehand would be a boost; otherwise, he\u2019ll hope for a turnaround in form for the remaining mountain stages.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to keep doing what I do, not give up. Day after day I put in everything I have,\u201d he said. \u201cThen the situation and the rivals will show what my situation is at all times. It is time to persist.\u201d<\/p>\n These will be nervous days for Mas. He never led a grand tour prior to the Vuelta but has been the center of attention for over a week now and is still learning how to handle things.<\/p>\n Still, he gives the impression he\u2019s enjoying the whole experience.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the stages there are protocols I had never done, but I like it,\u201d he told Marca<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s a very happy time in my life. I\u2019m approaching it with enthusiasm and I\u2019m happy to go through all of this. In sports terms, it\u2019s a very happy moment, I don\u2019t know if the happiest, but definitely one of the happiest. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever forget it.\u201d<\/p>\n Holding onto the red jersey is a huge priority and even if the pressure will build in the days ahead, he insists he is not scared of the TT.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just the time trial that\u2019s key, there are other important stages,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter the time trial, there are more mountain days. We don\u2019t have to fear the time trial day because it\u2019s just one day out of 20 of the race,\u201d he confirmed.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also not blas\u00e9 about the challenge he is facing. He\u2019s got respect for his rivals and knows he needs to be careful.<\/p>\n \u201cPrimo\u017e is third overall, he\u2019s not in 16th. You can never count him out,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s showing a great level. He knows what it\u2019s like to win a Vuelta because he\u2019s won four,\u201d he confirms.<\/p>\n \u201cBesides Gall and Rogli\u010d, there are more riders to watch out for. The standings are there and we can\u2019t let our guard down at any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/vuelta-a-espana\/twenty-wins-for-rogic-zero-for-mas-what-this-means-for-crucial-vuelta-tt-stage\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2294126031.jpg”] Shane Stokes Updated September 8, 2026 10:11AM Can Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d turn back the clock and pull out one of the best time trials of his career? Can Enric Mas do enough to block any resurgence by the four time Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a winner? The race is heading towards the remaining three most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2134398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2134398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2134398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2134398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2134398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2134398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2134398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2018Little and much left at the same time\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"Primo\u017e](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293683331.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
\u2018There are other important stages\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"Enric](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2290976831.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")