"Hopefully this year, we won't repeat the mistakes" - Primoz Roglic admits errors in prep for 2024 Tour de France

Primoz Roglic starts 2025 with the Tour de France still missing from his palmares. Although he's won the Giro d'Italia once and the Vuelta a Espana a record four times, a Maillot Jaune continues to prove elusive. When reflecting on the 2024 Tour though, the Slovenian admits he and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe got things wrong.

One of the big concerns raised by Roglic about his pre-2024 Tour de France preparation was the fact he and teammates simply did too much, taking in a pair of altitude camps and the Criterium du Dauphine. "In that case, I would agree now, for sure. But like they always say, after the war, it's quite easy to be smart," reflects Roglic to Cycling News. "It's also important to always look back, not immediately, but maybe with a bit of distance. Then you can put emotions a bit on the side and really look how it was and try to learn. Hopefully this year, we won't repeat the mistakes and we can react better if we find ourselves in the same situation."

Read also

"His numbers are still getting better" - Primoz Roglic and BORA on Tadej Pogacar

"I think motivation can also turn into something that you overdo, especially with things that you want to do perfectly," adds Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe’s chief of sport Rolf Aldag. "Looking back, maybe I should have taken it a little bit more relaxed and told the guys 'We aim here for success, we want to prove ourselves as a team but let's not overdo it'. There are some stages where I'm critical of myself. We could have approached it less offensive, not like running head first into the wall, assuming that the wall will collapse and we keep on going."

At one of the aforementioned pre-Tour altitude camps in Tignes, the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe riders were consistently pelted by rain on their rides, highly ideal for arriving at the Tour de France in peak condition. Aldag now admits it was a mistake to continue on in those conditions. "When we arrived at the Tour, we were probably physically OK, not fresh enough, but mentally cooked, and you don't want to be like that at the start of the Tour. That is irreversible, you cannot, say two days before, take it easy, like in training where you can taper and back off," he explains, noting how if a similar situation would arise again, he'd simply send the riders home. 

"On that mental status, if you're cooked, you're cooked, what do you do about it? Now we have also added a mental performance department, so that would hold us back from making the same decisions now," he continues.  "I think even if the camp was paid, everything is done right, under that prediction of weather, under the conditions, I would now stop the camp, send everybody home and say 'Relax, refresh, spend time with the family and come to the Tour de France', that will be now my take. But as always, you cannot go back in time."

Roglic's Maillot Jaune dreams for 2024 were ended by a crash

This year though, having seen the errors in their ways, Roglic, Aldag and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe have come up with a new programme for the Slovenian, one which includes both the Tour and the Giro d'Italia. "It's going to be straightforward, isn't it? We definitely don't aim to put any race in between the Giro and the Tour so the preparation is clear," Aldag explains. "Hopefully with some success and his head up high from Giro, we'll feel ready. And then we can just relax, train and race, which he's really good at."

"I have never seen Primoz, if he's not sick or injured, not being race ready after a training camp, so he knows what he can do. He gets his routine. He's not concerned by what his competitors are doing," adds Aldag. "Of course, we will aim for success in the Giro. If we achieve that, then we will be much calmer and much more relaxed going into the Tour knowing what he and his coach [Marc Lamberts] are going to do on day minus 15 to the Tour, minus 12 to the Tour and minus five to the Tour. I see it as a very good path."

"I think the biggest pressure comes from himself. This is sometimes hard for people to figure out because it's typical of Primoz if you do interview him, often he ends up in these phrases like 'If I'm good, I will attack, if I'm not good, they will drop me.' Now, is that his real way of thinking? Of course not. He has an expectation. He knows where he wants to be. Does he show that all the time? Not really. I do think he copes with a lot of that stuff by himself but also works with his sports psychologist," Aldag concludes. "They have a long-term relationship and I think that is important, that he's not alone and that he feels it is something he wants to talk about. He can come to us, but he also has a structure that he knows over years and years that he can rely on. I think he wants to win. A Primoz who does not want to win is probably considering stopping professional cycling and looking for something else, because winning drives him."

Read also

“No rider wants to end up in a ditch with broken bones" - Race organisers need to remember cycling 'is not a video game' according to Red Bull - BORA boss

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Unlock your ultimate cycling experience—subscribe today for access to the latest cycling news

Subscribe