Primoz Roglic doesn’t like doing things the easy way, does
he?
As the 2025 Giro d’Italia enters Stage 10, a time trial, the
2023 champion finds himself in familiar yet unwanted territory: chasing. After
a chaotic Stage 9 on the gravel roads to Siena, Roglic sits tenth overall, over
two minutes behind the pink jersey of Isaac Del Toro and a minute down on Juan
Ayuso, his most obvious rival. Once again, the former Olympic time trial
champion is in a hole. The question now is whether he can dig himself out.
Sunday’s gravel carnage was another nightmare to add to
Roglic’s collection. Caught behind a crash, hitting the deck himself, then
suffering a puncture, he was left scrambling as his general classification
rivals surged ahead. It was not just a time loss, it was a blow to rhythm,
morale, and perhaps faith.
On HLN’s Wuyts & Vlaeminck podcast, the setback
prompted an uncomfortable reflection. “Have you ever seen Roglic successfully
fight back from a seemingly lost position?” veteran commentator Michel Wuyts
asked. “Roglic has always acted, certainly in the four Vuelta’s he won, from a
top position. But fight back, counter in other words; I have never seen him do
that.”
It’s a provocative question, and one with some basis in
Roglic’s Grand Tour record. His Vuelta triumphs were often about control rather
than comeback, but that is not true in the sense of last year. Wuyts seems to
forget that in 2024, Roglic won the Vuelta after losing 5 minutes to Ben O’Connor
early on.
However, his infamous 2020 Tour de France defeat, when Tadej
Pogacar dethroned him in the final time trial, lingers as a psychological scar.
The 2023 Giro, which he won, came after a long duel with Geraint Thomas but
crucially saw Roglic surge on the penultimate stage when he was just seconds
down, not minutes.
Sunday’s drama was different. This was not a measured race
of attrition; it was a rupture. “It was kind of written in the stars that he
would have bad luck again in an important stage,” said Belgium’s national coach
Serge Pauwels. And once again, it seemed to happen when the stakes were highest,
as it did on the cobbles in the Tour in 2022.
Wuyts was blunt in his assessment of Roglic’s body language,
“Then he becomes a scaredy-cat. You can see that in his posture on his bike.
His legs are a bit further apart. He looks to the left, to the right. The
uncertainty, it's all over him. He's a tough guy, isn’t he.”
That duality is part of what makes Roglic such a compelling,
and at times enigmatic, rider. Nobody questions his ability to power on through
setback. His Olympic title, his Vuelta dominance, and his consistency all speak
to an elite champion, but there remains a sense that when the script veers off
course, he struggles to improvise.
Read also
Today’s time trial offers a controlled environment. No
gravel. No crashes. No chaos… in theory. It’s a chance for Roglic to assert
himself again, to claw back time, to reframe the Giro. But he won’t be racing
against shadows, as Del Toro, 21, may be young but has shown no sign of fading
yet, and Ayuso is consistent and dangerous.
And Roglic’s own Red Bull team looked slightly ragged in
Stage 9, relying almost solely on Giulio Pellizzari for support. Are they
missing Jai Hindley already?
Whilst Wuyts is wrong that Roglic can only win grand tours
when he is defending a lead, this does seem like an uphill challenge. But, he
can get the ball rolling today with a strong time trial, and he will be
confident of doing so after his strong TT on stage 2.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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