The China Mail - Four-time champion Roglic to ride Vuelta after training crash

The 36-year-old Slovenian will lead the team in the last Grand Tour of the season in the absence of Tour de France runner-up Remco Evenepoel.

"I have a very good history with the Vuelta and I always enjoy racing there," said Roglic.

"Winning it four times is already something I could never have imagined, so I don't want to put extra pressure on myself.

"We will take it day by day, do everything we can as a team and try to achieve the best possible outcome. I'm looking forward to it."

The Vuelta gets under way on Saturday with a 9km individual time trial in Monaco.

Roglic shares the record for most Vuelta overall titles with Roberto Heras and is also a 15-time stage winner in the race.

However, Red Bull-Bora sports director Sven Vanthourenhout says expectations will be tempered due to Roglic's disrupted preparation.

His compatriot Tadej Pogacar will be the red-hot favourite, as the five-time Tour de France champion competes in the race for the first time since finishing third in 2019, bidding to complete the career clean sweep of Grand Tour successes.

"We have to be realistic because his preparation has been very different from what we originally anticipated after his crash," said Vanthourenhout.

"We will assess things step by step. We will support him to achieve the best possible general classification result, but we also have to be ready to adapt if necessary."

The second and third stages will finish in France, followed by one day in Andorra before the race enters Spain for stage five.

This year's Vuelta concludes in Granada on September 13.

D.Peng--ThChM