"Everything is going according to plan" - Primoz Roglic confirms Volta a Catalunya will be his only pre-Giro race and assures good health

Primoz Roglic is aiming at the Giro d'Italia as the main goal of his 2023 season, but it will be a meaningful challenge. He's talked about his program in the run-up to the Corsa Rosa, as well as his current form and health after a difficult winter.

"It doesn't bother me anymore. My shoulder works like it should. Everything is going well and I am healthy. We are preparing for the Giro," Roglic revealed in conversation with RTV. After taking three months off the bike for an operation that would prevent him from suffering shoulder dislocations, the Jumbo-Visma rider returned to training in early December.

The climber will be back to competition at the Volta a Catalunya, where he will face fellow Giro rivals Remco Evenepoel and João Almeida. “It's the first real preparation race for my season. After Catalunya, I once again have a long camp at altitude in Tenerife (Mount Teide, ed.) ahead of the Giro," he confirms, with the news having been rumoured earlier this week. 

Why he chooses to go with such a light schedule however? He responds: "There are several reasons why we do it this way. There was little point in continuing to compete, because the dates did not match our wishes. So, for the Giro, the Volta a Catalunya will be my only race".

Roglic commented that he only expects to be "at eighty or ninety percent" and that Wilco Kelderman - who will be supporting him in May - should be the headliner in the Catalan race which has recently seen it's profiles revealed. Still, with three mountain stages, it will be a perfect week for the Slovenian to test his form after many months out of competition.

“At the moment everything is going according to plan. I will be ready for the Giro. We will see how well I run in the Volta a Catalunya at the end of March. That will be a real test to see where we are," Roglic concluded.