Primoš Roglic has had similar experiences before. After the disappointment of the Tour de France, he recovered at the Vuelta a España. His remarkable ability to bounce back from disappointment and move forward is now all too familiar.

This time, Roglic dislocated his shoulder in a crash on stage 5 of the Tour, but stayed in the race long enough to break the stronghold of Tadej Pogachar on the Col de Granon.

But by the time teammate Jonas Vingegaard earned a yellow in Paris, Roglic had already finished the stage with his sights set on the Vuelta, which starts Friday in Utrecht.

While Jumbo-Visma celebrated his Tour success on the Champs-Elysées, Roglic was at home watching on TV, although the pain may have been less intense than the ordeal of standing on the podium beside his compatriot Pogachar the day after losing yellow in 2020. must have felt the same pain.

"You definitely feel like you want to be there, you want to be a part of it: I got to the point where I couldn't run another kilometer. I had to accept my situation, but I'm still very happy with my success in the Tour."

When asked how he was able to get back on his feet again after the Tour ordeal, Roglic shrugged his shoulders. As if following Don Draper's advice, he just keeps going: two weeks after losing the 2020 Tour, he won the Vuelta twice in a row with a dramatic victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Last year, he won the Olympic time trial title and the Maillot Rojo after being eliminated at the Tour.

"I mean, I've always accepted the way things are," said Roglic. I mean, I've always accepted the status quo," Roglic said. The most important thing is to keep moving and to keep focusing on the future, not the past. Think about the next, not the last. Now we are here and tomorrow a new race starts."

Although the Vuelta has a sense of déjà vu, there are crucial differences between this Vuelta and the past two years. Roglic has not raced since abandoning the Tour a little over a month ago. Although he declared himself ready for the Vuelta, his recovery from the injury that ruined the Tour has yet to be tested. The early stages of this race may prove revealing.

"At the moment I am much better than before and I am recovering. In a way, I still feel something. 'Now I'm here, and when I get here I'm ready. But we'll see what that means in the coming days and weeks."

Roglic will get a head start in the 23km team time trial on Friday evening in Utrecht. A tough stage with steep climbs will follow.

Roglic remains undefeated in this race and will be looking to record his fourth Vuelta win in Madrid on September 11, with the likes of 2020 Dauphin Richard Calapaz and past winners Simon Yates, Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali, and Alejandro Valverde, There are challengers from yesteryear, but none are as eye-catching as debutant Lemko Evenpoel.

The Belgian, who gave up his first Grand Tour at last year's Giro, prepared carefully for this Vuelta and warmed up for the real thing by winning the Clasica San Sebastian with an incredible solo ride.

"To be honest, I don't really think about the other riders," he said.

"We're all starting from scratch tomorrow and we all have the same chance. Lemko doesn't need to prove it. He is already a super strong guy and has proven to be super fast on all terrain. And then there are the past winners of the Vuelta. I expect it to be a good, spectacular Vuelta."