"If he can beat everyone here, I'll help him" - Primoz Roglic ready to turn into Giulio Pellizzari's domestique at Tirreno-Adriatico

Cycling
Thursday, 12 March 2026 at 13:10
Primoz Roglic ahead of stage 2 at the 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is a team of many talents and many leaders. Primoz Roglic is now a veteran and looking to find his position within a team that has several emerging talents including Giulio Pellizzari. At Tirreno-Adriatico, he might just take on a supportive role for the Italian taking into consideration what has been shown throughout the first few stages of the race.
Stage 4 ends in Martinscuro, close to Tortoretto where the riders will be climbing today and where Primoz Roglic was a winner back at the 2023 edition - the first of three consecutive stage wins he took that year. This is something that escapes his memory however. "I don't actually remember. It would actually be great if I won there. It must be a tough climb," the Slovenian joked in an interview with CyclingPro.net.
Roglic is a two-time winner of the Italian race however this year the ambitions were realistically not the same, with an in-form Isaac del Toro on the start line and an overall level in the peloton that surpasses his current climbing abilities. Within BORA, there were three potential leading candidates at the start of the race.

Domestique for Pellizzari? 

But after stage 2 it became clear that there would only be one, as Giulio Pellizzari followed Isaac del Toro and Mathieu van der Poel in the gravel finale and got himself up to second in the overall classification, only a few mere seconds away from the Mexican - where he continues to stand until this Thursday morning.
Roglic himself is well positioned, fifth at 19 seconds from the race lead, but he will not shy away from work if that is required of him. "Yes, of course, he's shown a fantastic level. We're here for a good result for the team, and if he can beat everyone here, I'll help him. Otherwise, we'll go for me".
However, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe may play the numbers game and use both Roglic and Jai Hindley to attack the race and put UAE Team Emirates - XRG under pressure, instead of putting their full focus on the Pellizzari card. With two hilly stages remaining to the race, there is plenty space to attack the race and potentially conquer the overall classification.
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