“It’s really hard for him to be even be on the podium” – Is there any point Primoz Roglic continuing at the Giro?
Cycling
Primoz Roglic suffered a significant blow to his Giro
d’Italia 2025 ambitions on Stage 15, losing 90 seconds to his general
classification rivals and tumbling down the leaderboard in what was described
by many as a disastrous day for the Slovenian.
Speaking on TNT Sports Cycling, experts Jonathan Vaughters, Robbie
McEwen, and Adam Blythe dissected the stage and Roglic’s dramatic loss of time,
which now sees him 10th in the GC, 3 minutes and 53 seconds behind the race
lead with just one week remaining. Remember Roglic won this race in 2023, but
his chances of repeating that feat appear to be fading day after day.
“Someone who is suffering from that fatigue is Primoz
Roglic,” the panel observed, as updated standings showed Simon Yates still in
second, joined by Richard Carapaz on the same time. Other GC hopefuls,
including Damiano Caruso, Antonio Tiberi, Egan Bernal, and Thymen Arensman, all
moved up as Roglic slipped down the order.
Vaughters didn’t sugarcoat the situation, “It’s obviously
really hard for him to win or even be on the podium.”
Looking ahead, the panel shifted focus to those showing
strength going into the decisive final week. “To me Derek Gee looked great.
Bernal always has a good fatigue resistance in the high mountains. Obviously
I’m going to say Carapaz also looked great,” said Vaughters, team boss at EF
Education.
“Carapaz looked great. Ayuso so-so. Del Toro looked like he
was smoking a cigar,” he added, referring to the ease with which the young
Mexican handled the day’s efforts.
Then came the reminder of a key GC figure who is often
overlooked, “You know what I always love about this, we’ve done it again —
always forget about Simon Yates,” joked Blythe.
“No yeah, but Simon also... he attacked,” Vaughters added.
“He attacked with 2k to go and he’s got experience. He sometimes is good in the
third week of a Grand Tour, sometimes not. I mean we all remember that Giro
d’Italia he won three or four stages, I think he remembers it, and then he blew
up spectacular. So we’ll see, but of course he could also be a podium contender
as well.”
McEwen praised Yates’ resilience, “I thought he was really
impressive today for a number of reasons. There were a few times where it
looked like he might have been dropped, where it looked like his race could
have been over… However, to finish with this group, to respond to all of those
attacks, to have a dig himself — also really encouraging for the team.”
The panel also highlighted Bart Lemmen, who played a key
role for Yates’ team, “It was also really encouraging that Bart Lemmen was back
in and able to do a turn off the front as well,” said McEwen. “I think if
you’re Visma | Lease a Bike, you’re going into the second rest day and
thinking, yeah — this is a really, really good position to be in.”
Blythe agreed and suggested there’s more to come from Yates.
“Looking at how Simon was today... I think still to this point he hasn’t been
on his favoured terrain. Although it was a tough stage with a lot of climbing,
it wasn’t at the gradients where we normally see him come into his own. So I
think we’ve got a lot to look forward to.”
And once again, Lemmen’s contribution stood out. “His team
have been unreal on a team that doesn’t have a whole heap of climbing
domestiques,” said Blythe. “I think Bart Lemmen just really went above and
beyond today. He was in the break, then he was working hard. In fact, I’m going
to give him domestique of the day just for what he did, not influencing who won
the race, but how he did his job as the only one there.”
“He was great,” McEwen added. “Absolutely.”
As the Giro enters its critical final stages, Primoz Roglic
will need something extraordinary to claw back lost time, while riders like
Yates, Carapaz, Ayuso, and Del Toro are steadily positioning themselves for a
shot at the podium.
Read also
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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