Slovenian cycling star wins Andorra Cycling Masters

Primož Roglič won the first edition of the Andorra Cycling Masters, a showdown of the sport's four stars that also included his compatriot Tadej Pogačar.

The 35-year-old Slovenian won the uphill time trial and placed second in the urban criterium to take the overall victory, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Aside from the two Slovenian champions, the exhibition race also featured Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mexican Isaac del Toro, one of Pogačar's teammates on UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

According to various media reports, the organizers offered each rider a substantial sum of money to compete in Andorra and had also sought to attract Remco Evenepoel to the race, but the Belgian, who will be joining Roglič at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe next year, had other commitments.

The quartet first tackled an uphill time trial on the Coll de la Gallina, where Roglič beat Pogačar by 20 seconds to finish first. Del Toro took third two minutes and 26 seconds adrift and Vingegaard came in last, 3 minutes and 45 seconds behind.

Del Toro then claimed the win in the city race in Andorra la Vella, crossing the finish line narrowly ahead of Roglič. Pogačar was third and Vingegaard fourth.

Organizers have announced they will release a documentary featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the event. They have yet to disclose the release date and platform.

Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA