Classification leader Roglic unscathed in the Basque Country, Ayuso also crashed hard | Cycling

The TV viewer was briefly startled when, 38 kilometers from the finish, a battered Roglic suddenly stood on the side of the road. The Slovenian from BORA-hansgrohe made little move to continue driving. Finally, Roglic grabbed a bicycle and got back on.

The peloton showed compassion for the 34-year-old classification leader and pushed the pace. After more than 10 kilometers of chasing, Roglic was able to catch up again.

That did not end the chaos in the hill ride to Altsasu. Just before the arc of the final kilometer, a group of riders crashed at high speed. The Spanish super talent Juan Ayuso of Team UAE Emirates was in a bad condition, but he finished.

When the dust clouds cleared, the stage still had to have a winner. The Belgian Quinten Hermans from Alpecin-Deceuninck turned out to be the fastest of the thinned out peloton. He beat Edoardo Zambanini (second) and Alex Aranburu (third).

Roglic finished in the first group and therefore retains the leader’s jersey. He has a seven-second lead over Remco Evenepoel, who grabbed a few seconds during a bonus sprint. Jonas Vingegaard was in the second part of the peloton, but the time loss was forgiven due to the massive crash in the final.

The Tour of the Basque Country lasts until Saturday. There will mainly be opportunities for the climbers in the coming days.