Nestling at the foot of the Lagos de Covadonga climb there’s an important pilgrimage site and basilica church, built in commemoration of the battle fought there in 718 AD that is viewed as the starting point of the centuries-long military Reconquista [reconquest] of Spain.
Fast forward to the 2024 Vuelta a España and Primož Roglič is hoping the same summit finish deep in the northerly Picos de Europa mountain chain will also play host on Tuesday to a very different kind of reconquista: that of the leader’s red jersey, lost by Roglič on stage 6 to Australian Ben O’Connor and which the Slovenian has been chasing down ever since.
