Primoš Roglic knew from the moment he started pedaling that this was going to be one of those days; 46km is a long time to stare at the writing on the wall, but for this Slovenian, he had to do the time trial for the World Championships in Zurich and race this afternoon! There was nothing to do but to get back to what he could from the

Loglič was favored to win the title here, not only because of his victory in the Vuelta a España, but also because of the undulating terrain in the middle of the course. However, his struggles in Spain weighed heavily on Roglic, and as soon as he made his start at the Oerlikon Velodrome, he was eliminated from the medal race.

At the 10km mark, Roglic was 37 seconds behind eventual winner Remco Evenpole (Belgium). The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing to minimize damage. He was 1:15 behind on the climb up Wetikon am See and 1:35 behind on the flat last 10 km along the lake shore. [By that time, silver medalist Filippo Ganna (ITA) was closing in fast, and Roglic was passed by a 2-minute rider just before the finish. Then, as now, with his tepid performance after winning the Vuelta, Roglic also had to settle for 12th place, 2:06 behind Evenpoel.

Some defeats are easier to digest than others. But there was no trauma from this loss, just a transitory pain. As he passed through the mixed zone after the goal, he had a rueful smile on his face. Even a player like Roglic has days like this.

“It's no secret. Whatever I do, I always want to win, so I'm certainly disappointed, but on the other hand, sometimes I'm good at what I do and sometimes I'm not. [I don't want to make excuses. I gave it my all today, from the start to the finish. But it was really tough. It was really painful. Obviously, I am still tired from the Vuelta. It was really difficult to push myself in a time trial like this. I'm glad I finished.”

Roglic has had a mentally and physically demanding season. In the Tour de France, he crashed in the second week and retired. He broke his spine in a crash in Villeneuve-sur-Lotto, but somehow made it to the start line five weeks later at the Vuelta a España, as if muscle memory had kicked in.

As he had after previous Tour setbacks, Roglic quietly worked on winning the Vuelta. He spent two weeks chipping away at Ben O'Connor's overall lead. Then, after taking the red jersey from O'Connor with two days to go, Roglic and the entire Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team fell ill on the final weekend. Although they had secured a record fourth Vuelta victory, the two-week break was not enough of an adjustment for the world championship time trial.

“I can't say yet what impact the Vuelta has had on his World Championship preparation,” he said, “and I can't give an honest opinion. 'It's been a really tough three weeks. Everyone finished really close to the edge. Then the next two weeks were fast

“I took a week off and another week I ran a little bit to get ready. Then I came here and gave it everything I had, like bam. It was tough, but I'll be ready for next Sunday.”

Although fatigue was evident in the time trial, Roglic is hoping to get more out of this season, which continues until Lombardia next month.

“Of course, I'm here to keep a little rhythm at the end of the season.

Incidentally, in 2019, Roglic recovered from a poor showing in the World Championship time trial to win the Giro delle Miglia, but it remains to be seen if he can regain his strength quickly enough to play an important role in next weekend's World Championship road race.

Tadej Pogachar will lead the Slovenian team in its quest for a historic Triple Crown, but the history of the World Championships is dotted with winners who have benefited from the tougher marks given to their more favored brethren. Take, for example, Stephen Roche's victory in 1987, when all eyes were on his Irish teammate Sean Kelly.

“It doesn't help much when it's like today.

When asked if the time trial would help him prepare for the road race, Roglic replied.

“But obviously next Sunday is a whole different story. First of all, I need to rest a little bit. Then I'm going to take it day by day and see what happens and try to prepare. As far as the team is concerned, I'm really happy to be a part of it. We have a strong group of players on the team.

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