Luka Mezgec has written the final chapter of his racing career. The curtain drops, and the 38-year-old Slovenian gradually switches into the team car of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe for the 2027 season.
During the thirteen seasons at a professional level, Mezgec transitioned from a sprint leader to a lead-out rider whose main task was the support of his leaders; either as a member of the Jayco AlUla team, or alongside Primoz Roglic and later Tadej Pogacar at European and World Championships.
With the latter, he managed to claim two rainbow jerseys (2024, 2025) as part of the Slovenian national team. But Mezgec's relationships with Pogacar goes beyond compatriotism. The two cyclists have after all become quite close friends over the years. That's why Mezgec's farewell at the European Championships in front of home crowds missed only one thing - a title celebration of his compatriot.
Sprinter who adapted
Mezgec won his last professional race all the way back in 2019 when he claimed two stages at the Tour de Pologne. Prior to that, the Slovenian spent a large part of his career as a skilled sprinter whose mix of speed and versatility allowed him to claim a total of 19 professional victories, including a 2014 Giro d'Italia stage ahead of Giacomo Nizzolo and Tyler Farrar.
That was the biggest win of Mezgec's career. In 2017, another highlight came as at the age of 28, Mezgec gave himself a birthday present in the form of his only Slovenian national title.
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The breaking point of his career was three years later. The covid season itself did not seem to slow Mezgec down as he finished second at the Bretagne Classics and later finished runner-up twice in a Tour de France stage (both times behind escapee Soren Kragh Andersen) but in the coming years, we saw the Slovenian gradually accept a new role; in the lead-out for Dylan Groenewegen.
In the end, Mezgec can look back at a successful career during which he fit many roles, and gathered a range of experience he can now pass down to his new colleagues at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe where he'll try to build a new top sprint train around the young talent Alessio Magagnotti.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses 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.
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- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
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