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"I actually hope that he succeeds" - Robert Gesink keen on Primoz Roglic's Tour de France triumph despite team change
CyclingThursday, 07 December 2023 at 17:00
Robert Gesink was part of Primoz Roglic's three Vuelta a Espana wins, and his run-in for several others. The Slovenian has moved on to BORA - hansgrohe but Gesink hopes that his friend is still able to achieve his dream.
“Primoz has won almost everything in his career, except for that one major prize, the Tour de France. With his drive, it is actually logical that he would want to do everything he could for another two years to win that top prize," Gesink said in a column for RIDE Magzine. "If I let the cycling enthusiast in me speak, I actually hope that he succeeds in that goal. What a wonderful story it would be if, after all these years with so many major victories, he now adds that missing yellow jersey to his list of achievements.”
This was almost the case in 2020 - where Gesink was present. Roglic was very close to winning the Tour de France that year, but was ultimately defeated in the final time-trial by a very strong Tadej Pogacar. Ever since, the Slovenian has not come close. His diminishing freedom in the Grand Tours has also led him to choose a different team, as he has one key race missing in his palmarès, and still has the legs to fight for a huge win.
“Primoz is one of the four riders who is a certainty for success overall classifications in the Grand Tours. Our team would have liked to keep two of those riders, which is why, in the event of a merger with Soudal Quick-Step, they were also enthusiastic about the possible arrival of Remco Evenepoel," the veteran tells. "That did not work. And yes, there is still a strong block that is well attuned to each other. The fact that the team can win a Grand Tour even without Primoz was proven in the Tour last season.”
Roglic will however have to battle against Gesink's Jumbo-Visma. Jonas Vingegaard will certainly aim for another Tour de France title in 2024 and taking into consideration the last two years, it will be very hard for someone to beat him in direct competition. However a lot can happen in and outside of racing. Roglic will lead a BORA - hansgrohe with a clear goal and will, most likely, feature a strong block alongside him in France.
“To compete against Primoz later will require a different dynamic," Gesink acknowledges. "He also has BORA-hansgrohe a strong block around him. There is no other rider who knows so well what he wants and someone who can use his experience so well. Although I am also convinced that our team will continue to rely on its own strengths and will not adjust its course to an opponent. Even if it is Primoz. It's going to be an interesting summer. The neutral cycling enthusiasts will be the biggest winners of Roglic's transfer.”
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- No, it didn't. It has been debunked by the team that there was anything wrong with his feeding. Pogacar went too early and paid the price.maaiikeen31-12-2024
- Strong team around Jonas and pray each day that Tadej forgets to eat in the decisive stages (col du Granon). It also happened this year, stage 11 when Jonas won the sprint (incredible! Tadej was empty).
maria2024202430-12-2024 - Not quite yet I’d say but she could reach and surpass. You probably forgot Vos’ 2 track WC titles that outweigh the total and it has to be said more of PFPs MTB titles are a bit far fetched than Vos but yes they are comparable. It’s strange that with her consistent participation in xc she’s never ever managed to win even one race, Marie Schreiber can at least retire with that achievement ;-)Mistermaumau30-12-2024
- He may be known as “The goat” but I can’t realistically consider him a top ten candidate taking together all forms of cycling. Vos had 28 UCI WC wins, Absalon 33, Schurter 34, MVDP 41 and counting. As far as world championships they are all ahead too Longo, MVDP, PFP, Merckx, de Vlaeminck, TP and at least a half dozen others from long ago are surely higher up, or what criteria are you privileging other than a nickname?Mistermaumau30-12-2024
- and yeah, i’m a ridiculous blowhard for writing THAT MUCH. seriously, f me…OCexile30-12-2024
- this has diverged from being a per se cycling discussion, but that’s cool with me. so i live in the united states. for background, i grew up in southern california, educated at UC Irvine and UC Berkeley, and except for chunks of a 22 year Navy career i’ve lived here most of my life. there are things about this country, the way its social, political, and economic institutions function that IN MY OPINION fail considerably in comparison to other developed democracies. BUT, one thing that i think the US does excel in is that we have an extraordinarily high level of freedom of speech. now, that certainly opens the door for the alex joneses of the world to weaponize/monetize speech in utterly disgusting ways that do actual damage. it also gives freedom to politicians to say that the press is corrupt and should be jailed, like in russia, iran, or venezuela. these are DANGEROUS uses of freedom of speech. but as much as that freedom may imperil the well being of individuals and ideas — like the idea of liberty itself — it’s that freedom that has, over time, marked the SLOW movement toward greater equality and well being. this extreme level of free speech is certainly the primary fundamental right in the united states that has functioned, over time, to actively drive social progress. i mean, quack quack quack, right? the kind of speech that MOST needs protection is UNPOPULAR SPEECH. we KNOW this. but if you can only engage in unpopular speech IN PRIVATE, as you suggested, and be BARRED from a public platform to share those unpopular ideas, then your freedom to speak means very little and the whole project of social change and social progress grinds to a halt. “YES, you can talk about all races being equal to your friends, but you can’t publish any articles making that argument.” “YES, you can say that homosexuality isn’t a dangerous perversion that must be legislated against so long as you ONLY say it to your friends, but you can’t say it on a radio show.” so the problem is, if there’s going to be prior restraint of speech, the only person I’M gonna trust to decide who can say what before they say it is ME. if somebody wants to let me and my friends make all those decisions, then i’m IN. i’d expect a little pushback on that idea though. alex jones would probably like that job, too. lance would love that kind of power i bet. sooooo…. maybe it’s better to just leave things like they are. it’s ugly and messy and people get hurt, but once you SURRENDER that nearly unlimited freedom you’ll never get it back. and yes, society has drawn lines: still can’t threaten to blow up a mosque or share child pornography, etc. — that’s a pretty good idea. but erring on the side of freedom rather than censorship has been critical in preserving valuable free speech rather than seeing it slowly winnowed and legislated away. so yeah, there WILL be another alex jones, neonazis get to deny the holocaust, and lance gets to talk about cycling all he wants. and if you don’t like the source or the content then YOU are free to rail against it, or just not listen. as always, totally appreciate and respect YOUR perspective, brother. and i do get where you’re coming from. there are individuals in the US who have (or are about to have) the biggest platform there is who say things that drive me mad because i find them so dangerous and misleading, but the american version of democracy, with all its notable failings, has survived by preserving freedom of speech in the face of these types, not by limiting it.OCexile30-12-2024
- There is a cyclist, recently retired who raced as a Junior in 1997, and is known as 'The Goat'. Downhill legend, Greg Minnaar......wipperman9530-12-2024
- The road bias of this site shows up as PFP isn't mentioned - who is as successful as Vos, and from memory has more World titles.wipperman9530-12-2024
- his wife was surprisingly accurateabstractengineer30-12-2024
- Its the wrong thing to do the Vuelta after getting exhausted in the TDF. This is going to reduce his career potentialabstractengineer30-12-2024