INTERVIEW | "You don't need to be like Pogacar" - Slovenian talent Jakob Omrzel given space to grow at Bahrain - Victorious

In Slovenia, dreams are bigger than ever. Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic and Matej Mohoric have led a golden generation that have taken to the very top of the cycling world, but who comes next? The small 2-million inhabitants nation might have found its answer in Jakob Omrzel, the 19-year old 'super talent' that is the country's next big hope.

Omrzel is no stranger to the spotlight. despite his young age. He is the reigning under-23 World Champion, and a rider that has gathered a lot of attention due to his origins from Novo Mesto, close to the Slovenian border, but part of the same country that has seen born and raised the very best of this generation. Any Slovenian talent nowadays doesn't go unnoticed, as all teams will be looking to sign the riders that give way to the 'golden generation'.

Omrzel signed with the Bahrain - Victorious development team in 2025, and turning pro with the team was never in question. "Probably this was the biggest part for me of why I chose the team. Because in the end it's a lot of people that I already know, staff is mainly from Slovenia, Croatia and so on," he said in words to CyclingUpToDate. "So yeah, for me I'm just really comfortable to start my career here. I'm not just saying start also, if I continue I'm really happy for now. I think that I'm just waiting to go, to start the season and just to learn as much as I can". 

But who is Jakob Omrzel, really? "I think more calm guy than on the bike, because on the bike for sure adrenaline can kick in. But yeah, I try to be mainly quiet and listen to other people, but I have my own opinion for sure. And yeah, that's just it, try to be polite, not rude, but yeah, sometimes you need to raise the voice, but just in a good manner".

There is still a lot of time to learn. Omrzel only turns 20 years old in March, and is making his debut at World Tour level at an age that a decade ago was almost unthinkable. This is because of his immense talent. Bahrain struck gold with him and have secured him with a contract until 2029, which could turn the tide on the team's lack of a true Grand Tour victory contender over the past few years.

The team certainly benefited from having the largest contingent of Slovenians in the World Tour, a key factor to Omrzel's decisions to be part of it. He is now a teammate of Matej Mohoric, whom he saw on TV a lot when growing up. "These are the guys that for sure I was looking even before when I was a kid. Because also Matej is 12 years older than me. So for sure I was watching since from the start. So yeah, it's just this inspiring and now it's just incredible to work with these guys, to be with these guys. And just for me this is just every day is a new opportunity. I'm just grateful to be here for sure".

He has plenty memories of seeing his compatriots performing over the past few years, but Mohoric specifically is a true source of inspiration. "For sure I have. When Matej was winning already his first race he said Tour de France, Milano - Sanremo. I was young at the time, he was riding it in Paris-Roubaix pretty good... Yeah, when Sonny (Colbrelli in 2021, ed.) won, he was also there - I don't know the result, the outcome, but I know that he was there and he was just incredible. For me this was just a young guy with big eyes. I thought that someday maybe I can be like him, so it's just incredible".

But when asked about idols, Omrzel revealed an interesting mentality: "Yeah, for sure I have idols, but in the meantime I have just like... I just said 'okay, I want to work like him, his mentality is good, his way of working is good', so I like to combine everything and do it in my own way".

Perhaps in the classics its not easy to imagine Omrzel performing the same way as his compatriot, as he is built for the mountainous terrain. Weighing in at 62Kg and measuring 1.85 meters (according to ProCyclingStats), he is certainly on the lighter side. But he has made good use of this on the climbs where this year, his performances earned him a breakthrough win at the under-23 Giro d'Italia.

"The start was not the best, but I knew that I can get a really good result. I didn't know necessarily that I'm going to win, but for sure if someone would say that you're going to win, still I wouldn't be 100% sure, but I would know that something is coming because I was already in a really, really good shape".

Right after finishing fourth in the Tour of Slovenia where he led the elite team, he had his very best form. He started off the race with a few good performances, but it was truly his consistency that earned him the triumph. In the final two stages he won enough time on Luke Tuckwell (now Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) to take the pink jersey in the final podium. Pavel Novak and Jorgen Nordhagen were the two two main men in the mix.

"It was just like each day was a new day. I was not looking in front, I was just 'okay, we go day by day'. And I was just improving steadily, so I think it was also a big part of mentally, just how to race and strategically it was perfect. And also the team was great for sure, without the team I wouldn't accomplish this. And with the guys we had a lot of fun and probably because of this I managed to pull the win". A week later he would win the Slovenian elite national championships, which also puts him in new colours, standing out from the crowd in the team and the peloton. For good reason there are lots of eyes on him into the 2026 season.

"Yeah, for sure, you have these people for sure. You have now a bigger group of people that are looking at me, so for sure, yeah, it's different. But still the people that were before close to me, it stayed the same, we still have the same relationship. We look at each other like we did before and it's just probably this is the most important thing because with the people that you are close, you are working with, it's still these realistic goals and realistic progress of work".

But at the Tour de l'Avenir, he wasn't able to replicate the same results, as he didn't have his best form. "It was just this period of time because after one really good peak of the season, yeah, for sure it was rest and then I was maybe a bit tired... It was just like this, this progress, the line of coming back on top and it was not just the right period for me. I wasn't on my best for sure, I was not on 100%". He finished the race in a solid 13th place in the overall classification, but it is an important step in his development, and important for the long-run goal of learning how to handle the difficult moments.

"Also because you win something and then you are happy, it's a bit harder to do it again, but I think this is just learning for sure. I got from l'Avenir a lot, I was still not bad for sure, but not as good as before. Also by the numbers, by everything, by mentally, it was just on a different level. For me, it was important that I overcame this. At the end I finished good, so I got the feeling that I was looking for before, not in l'Avenir, but then in the later races. So yeah, for me, at the end everything is just learning".

Although he was part of the development team, he was fully part of the team's elite project this year, and was treated as part of the elite team right from the start. "Yeah, for sure. The team this year was really good at it. Also at the downs, we learned a lot. They didn't put the pressure on me, it was just, ok, now you learned, and try to do better next time or to improve this, not to do the same mistake". He was 7th at the Cro Race to finish the season, co-leading with teammate Edoardo Zambanini.

In 2026 his plans aren't fully designated yet, but one race is clear in his schedule: "Tour of Slovenia and the races that I was racing last year, the pro races, for sure they are the goals. But it's still like, we are doing step by step, we are doing realistic goals. So we are not trying to now go 'ok, now you go to Grand Tour, now you're going to win'. Maybe it would be possible, maybe, but still, I don't think it's the right way for me to do this curve of progress. So it's just like steady, step by step. I think like this, we can do it better".

He keeps his program close to him however, likely also because it could suffer changes throughout the upcoming months depending on his performances. "Yeah, I know roughly the calendar, but still I think that races can change day by day. It can happen something. So for now it's just like, it would be a bit stupid to say, but at the end, every race that I'm going to start, I'm going to start with a reason. So for sure we'll try our best and for sure we'll get the results that we're looking for".

Coming from Slovenia and having a Grand Tour palmarès already attached to him (in the youth categories), he is often linked to Tadej Pogacar. But he does not feel that pressure, and the team also looks to keep it away from him. "Like I said before, I'm not Pogacar, I'm Jakob, so we'll see how the journey will end up, but no one from Slovenia is really pushing me".

"From people that I'm working with, like the staff in Bahrain, they know, so it's just like this, they know, 'you have time, you don't need to be like Pogacar', it's just like for sure you are talented, you are good, but just be calm and do what you know best and that's it. So mainly because of this reason I feel really good in this team" he concluded.