Jan Tratnik training to serve Roglic in Giro d'Italia - "Primoz is already in great form, so I'm looking forward to helping him in every possible way"

Jan Tratnik's decision to switch teams from Bahrain Victorious to Jumbo-Visma during the winter appears to have paid off, as the latter team has been experiencing a string of victories and he has been playing a role in their success.

Reflecting on the last few months, the Slovenian cyclist writes on his personal website. “There were definitely differences in my programme. Last year I was at training camp in January and only raced afterwards. Now I was on the Teide in Tenerife for three weeks in February. There is nothing to do there, but the time passed quickly because of all the training. I soon became exhausted because the many training sessions are comparable to a big tour.”

He continues, “Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne showed that we had prepared great. When you saw how we dragged each other through it, you only get more motivation. All our efforts paid off. Unfortunately, some riders were sick after that and I fell in for Paris-Nice.”

His fortunes took a positive turn following the reshuffle, as he claimed victory in the third stage of the race, marking his first win of the season.” At the start, I was still feeling good, but during the stage, I already felt some bubbling in my body. The temperature difference on the first day was 30 degrees and I have had problems with that before. Still, I insisted on finishing because my wife Ursa was waiting for me there. I hadn't seen her for over a month.”

Unfortunately, he couldn't make much of an impact during the Milan-Sanremo race due to a crash. “The plans were actually falling apart due to my crash. It happened just before the Cipressa and it was a personal setback that I couldn't return after that. However, I am happy that I'm okay. The main goal of the season is the Giro d'Italia, so my program is now focused on that. I will train again for three weeks on Teide, before heading directly to Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro. Primoz Roglic is already in great form, so I'm looking forward to helping him in every possible way,” concluded Tratnik.