A strong sprint to the top of Lo Port saw the overall leader finish six seconds ahead of Evenepoel and stretch his lead to 10 seconds after accumulating another four in the time bonus.
Joao Almeida was next to cross the line followed by UAE Emirates teammate Marc Soler, and the pair now sit third and fourth on the GC standings after Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) and Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) took a step backwards.
Stage 5, a 176.6-kilometre trek to the summit of Lo Port, was always going to be a decisive one in the seven-stage race, particularly after Roglic and Evenepoel had finished the first four level on time.
Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and Tsgabu Girmay (Jayco-AlUla) established the day’s first breakaway and led the peloton by two-and-a-half minutes after the first climb of Alt de Bot.
Ibai Azurmendi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jose Felix Parra, Pablo Castrillo and Hector Carretero (Kern Pharma), and Julen Amezqueta (Caja-Rural Seguros RGA) would later join the trio with 103.5 kilometres to go, but their gap had since dropped under two minutes courtesy of Lotto-Dstny’s pace in the peloton.
Soudal Quick-Step took it upon themselves to close the distance with 22.6 kilometres remaining, and the gap reduced rapidly as riders traversed the unofficial slopes of the ascent to Lo Port.
With nine kilometres to go, Grmay was the first to attack, but his efforts were quickly neutralised by Bahrain Victorious and the rest of the peloton as the stage ticked towards its final six kilometres.
Evenepoel would be the next rider to attack, launching off the wheel of his Soudal Quick-Step teammate at a pace only Roglic and Soler could match.
Almeida would eventually bridge across with two kilometres left until the finish, but once Roglic launched a searing sprint of his own, nobody could stop the Jumbo-Visma star from taking the vital victory.
“I’m super happy,” Roglic said after the race. “Like I said the first day, 300 or 500 metres of climbing was enough – but it’s getting better and now I’m enjoying it.
“It’s still two hard days to come. Not tomorrow probably but for sure the day after – three days and we’ll do our best and see.”
Stage 6 will see the peloton travel 183 kilometres to Molins de Rei, and SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand will have all the action LIVE from 1:15am (AEDT) on Sunday, March 26.
