Primoš Roglic had set the fastest time as he crossed the finish line on stage 10 of the Vuelta a España, Avenida de la Estación in Alicante. Remco Evenpoel would have already broken his mark by the time he found the podium.

Instead, Roglic opted to head directly to the Jumbo Visma van for a warm-down, leaving the waiting TV crew behind as he disappeared through the chaos of the finish area. The few journalists who followed him - "Has visto Roglič."- followed the back roads and located the Slovenian.

They eventually found Roglič spinning his legs on a turbo trainer. He probably thought he had sealed the deal by averaging over 54 km/h on the 30.9 km/h course, but it was still enough to earn him second place on the stage. Evenpoel, who was motored about 1.3 km/h faster, won by 48 seconds. In the overall standings, Roglic moved into second place, but the gap to the red jersey was 2:41.

"I mean I'm happy," Roglic insisted after nodding to the approaching reporters. 'We had a good time trial,' he said. I really want to say congratulations to Lemko.

Even though Evenpoel had won his first Vuelta in Alicante, he had already pulled away from his rivals for the overall win in the summit finishes of Pico Jano and Les Preles in week one. 22-year-old Evenpoel was untouchable early in the race, but Roglic denied that his dominance was a surprise. Logrich dismissed the notion that his dominance was a surprise. Evenpoel had made a firm statement with his crushing victory at last month's Clasica San Sebastián.

"I would be happier if he wasn't so out of shape, but he didn't need to show he was in such good shape," he said. 'He's won a lot of big races. He has already shown that strength. And he is showing it right now."

Prior to Tuesday's stage, his record against Evenpoel in time trials was 4-1. Perhaps more importantly, Roglic lost for the first time in the Vuelta's individual time trial. His three overall victories were built around being the outstanding ruler of this race. This time he will have to find another way to win.

"I mean, if you are here every year, sooner or later you can lose. I mean, if you stay here every year, sooner or later you have a chance of losing.

"Yeah, definitely he's flying right now. But we'll see. It's a long race, and like I said before, I'm happy and proud of myself."

In his stage racing career, Roglic has built an early lead and gradually extended it. To annex this Vuelta, it looks like he will have to take a big gamble somewhere between here and Madrid.

"We have to take it one day at a time. For now, the most important thing is to stay healthy and avoid problems. As I said, we will take each day for the opportunities that will come our way."

Week 2 has three summit finishes, including stage 15, which will take the riders to the friendly confines of the Sierra Nevada, where Roglic's training base is located. One must hope that the heat of Andalusia, the weight of the Mayo Rojo, and the length of the race will slow down the momentum of the Evenpohères.

"We have to take it one day at a time," Roglic reiterated. . there are still eleven stages to go."