“It's cool not to have to train anymore" - Primoz Roglic makes long-awaited return with quiet opening day at the Dauphine

Primoz Roglic was back in the peloton on Sunday afternoon as the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine got underway in France. A quiet day with little to no general classification action, the Slovenian safely navigated without incident.

“It's cool not to have to train anymore and to be out and about, to race with the boys,” the BORA - hansgrohe leader reflected with his typically warm smile. “I need to get into racing situations with my teammates. We have not raced together much yet, so it is crucial to race together in the coming days.”

One of those Roglic has to build a racing connection with ahead of the Tour de France, is former Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley and in the Australian's pre-stage interview, things sounded positive in regards to the early signs of development. “I haven’t done so many races with him but we just spent like three weeks on the mountain so it was pretty cosy,” Hindley told Cycling News before stage 1 which was eventually won in a bunch sprint by Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen. “But he’s a good guy and I think he’s good to work with."

“It’s massive for building chemistry. It’s sort of like the final dress rehearsal," the Australian continued, well aware that those who perform strongly in the Dauphine, more often than not carry that form into a positive Tour de France performance. "If you’re good here then normally you’ll be good at the Tour and hopefully, we’re good.”

As mentioned, Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen took the win ahead of Sam Bennett in the day's bunch sprint finale with each of BORA - hansgrohe's leadership trio successfully navigating the stage without drama or incident. A trickier test awaits on stage 2 however, with Roglic one of the pre-stage favourites for the win and possibly taking the Maillot Jaune in the process too.