"I believe it's possible. Primoz can deal with this challenge" - Rolf Aldag insists Roglic is capable of Giro d'Italia - Tour de France double
Cycling
In 2025, Primoz Roglic takes on the task of a Giro d'Italia - Tour de France double for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. According to team sports director Rolf Aldag, the Slovenian is more than capable of emulating his compatriot Tadej Pogacar from 2024 and winning both the Maglia Rosa and Maillot Jaune.
"It wasn't a matter of telling him he had to do it. It was a team decision," Aldag explains in quotes collected by Siol about the plan to balance both Italian and French Grand Tour goals in the coming season. "If we win the Giro, the pressure would disappear. That would give more opportunities for the Tour, both in terms of strategy and expectations."
As mentioned, Pogacar took on the Giro in early 2024 and actually arrived at the Tour de France later that summer in arguably the best form of his life. Has seeing this from the UAE leader inspired the rest of the his rivals that a Giro - Tour double could be the way forward? "I think it's a question of how you do it. If you decide, you have to use new approaches that are mostly related to training and not to racing," Aldag answers, expressing his belief that Roglic is more than capable of doing the double. "I believe it's possible. I believe Primoz can deal with this challenge given the experience he has. Do you know why? He was physically completely beaten up at the Tour, then he did a psychological reset, went on a quick rehabilitation and in just four weeks prepared for the Vuelta and won it. This shows his resilience and adaptability."
Although it's not confirmed as of yet, the prospect of Roglic's former teammate Jonas Vingegaard appearing at the Giro remains heavily rumoured. Regardless of the Dane's involvement or not though, Aldag insists Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe plans are set. "To be honest, we are focused on ourselves," he concludes. "Well, and we would like to have an exciting, interesting race that we would win. If Jonas decides to come and we end up winning, it would be nice to beat him. We respect the cyclists, there are many combinations, so we can't plan whether Jonas will come or not. It's great for cycling fans if they are the best in the race. We only have influence on our plan and we have to stick to it."
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