"I would say it's 80-20 for him to retire from cycling" - But have European Championships changed Primoz Roglic's outlook on his future?
Cycling
Primoz Roglic's future is one of the most hotly debated in the world of cycling at the moment. On this week's episode of the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rúben Silva and Gavin Quinn discussed the chances of the Slovenian to remain in the peloton and whether this is a likely scenario.
"If we were to take a look at the situation or have the same conversation in the beginning of August, I would say it's 80-20 for him to retire from cycling," Silva believed.
"Because he's achieved a lot, and I don't think that he's able to achieve more than what he has in the past: I think the Tour de France is out of reach, I think the Tour de Suisse, honestly, probably out of reach as well".
Roglic has won every other big stage race in the calendar and had very specific goals for the 2026 season: The Tour de Suisse (in which he finished 8th) and the Vuelta a España, where he rode to a surprising second place.
The withdrawal of Tadej Pogacar helped, but the veteran found the level he hadn't since the 2025 Tour de France. This allowed him to be Enric Mas' biggest rival and almost add a record-breaking fifth overall win.
After the Vuelta, a strong performance at the World Championships, and the victory at the European Championships' time trial, Silva believes there are suddenly more reasons for Roglic's career to continue:
"Now especially winning this time trial European title, I argue that it gives him a reason to be here next year, because he has a jersey - Well, he already had a Slovenian time trial national champion jersey, but he has a new jersey on his palmarès. And unless he rides the Chrono des Nations next week, he isn't going to use it in competition ever".
Tudor is Roglic's likely destination
Roglic's stay at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe has been known to end for months, and his future lies elsewhere, if he is to stay in the peloton.
"I think Roglic's final months of the season have changed his outlook on what he wants for 2027 and onwards completely, I think retirement was very, very likely. Now I don't think so".
The team that has apparently taken up the lead in potentially signing the 36-year old is Tudor Pro Cycling Team, who are looking to get promoted to World Tour status within the next seasons. Lotto-Intermarché have also been rumoured recently to some degree, but the connection does not appear to be as strong.
"I would love to see one of these developments take place. I think for Tudor it makes sense, Tudor want to evolve in the long term, Julian Alaphilippe's salary is freed up in the meantime, and so they have the opportunity to sign one big rider".
"And they're a team like Pinarello, they're a team with a goal. You join Tudor and you're not just there to keep rolling, just keep doing what you're already doing... You move away from the World Tour, but now you're part of the team with a concrete goal," Silva pointed out. "
"Racking up UCI points, of going into the World Tour, and they enter the grand tours as underdogs. Roglic all of a sudden wouldn't enter a grand tour in the lead of this 40 or 50 million euro [a year budget] team, it would be a position of much less pressure, and this is a position that he likes".
Primoz Roglic won the time trial European Championships in Slovenia
Is freedom the catalyst for Roglic's success?
"Tudor for sure makes so much sense, it's a team with other leaders or other potential GC leaders, like everyone from Mathys] Rondel, Michael Storer... Strong climbers, so he's not going to be the only one looked to for a result," Quinn analyzed. "As you said, like that absence of pressure is something he kind of thrives under".
This year saw Roglic have an unusual schedule, with the Slovenian foregoing the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, but showing up at his very best level when it mattered the most: The Vuelta a España.
"I think what he'll use his success over winter for, over autumn, if he is to continue on in 2027, is control of goals and control of calendar. Because that's where you're going to see the best Roglic, that's where you're going to see him base his season".
"He based his whole season over the final eight weeks of the year, and you've seen how well he performed when he was given the opportunity to do that".
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Roglic's statements from after Il Lombardia assert that there is a future in the sport if he so wishes. "I have to decide whether to sign or call it a day," he said in an interview with Siol, which the duo interpreted as there being a concrete offer on the table.
But at the same time, both are quick to not exclude Lotto-Intermarché from the battle, after the departure of Arnaud de Lie and Lennert van Eetvelt also freed up a large amount of financial resources.
"I think Roglic would get a bit of a kick out of helping someone like Jarno Widar in a Grand Tour," Quinn believes. "Like in a way I see similar profile, like Widar has a good kick when it comes to a finish, Roglic in his prime was obviously the number one candidate for a mountaintop finish... So there's definitely potential there, at least from Roglic's point of view, to bring on a protege of sorts".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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