Roglic wins record-equalling fourth Vuelta / Photo: © AFP
Roglic wins record-equalling fourth Vuelta
Primoz Roglic won the Vuelta a Espana for a record-equalling fourth time on Sunday.
The Slovenian wrapped up his fifth-career Grand Tour when he finished second in the closing time-trial on the streets of Madrid won by Stefan Kung.
Australia's Ben O'Connor finished runner-up overall with Spain's Enric Mas completing the podium.
With the sun setting on the streets of the Spanish capital Roglic, 34, drew level with Spaniard Roberto Heras for number of wins in the season's third and closing Grand Tour.
Roglic, riding for Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team, had to fight for the red jersey after a gruelling race that began three weeks ago in Portugal and featured some of the toughest climbs the sport has to offer.
He won stage four to take the overall lead but then O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team) burst to the top of the general classification by almost five minutes.
Roglic slowly chipped away at the Australian's massive cushion with a bunch of strong mountain place finishes.
He reclaimed the leader's red jersey after his third win on stage 19.
This Vuelta triumph went a long way to making up for the disappointment of his Tour de France-ending crash in July.
Roglic finished the race 2min 36sec up on O'Connor, with Mas (Movistar) third at 3:13.
A.Parker--TNT
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