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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- You must have missed yesterdays and todays Italian races where UAE 'subs' didn't win!frieders305-10-2026
- Well i have no idea why he cooperated at 2.5 k from finish, that was possibly the worst decision ever. That decision could have given him an inch to win.abstractengineer05-10-2026
- For someone as good as you say, his top results as per pcs pale into comparison with Evenepoel’s, as for jerseys, he might run out of anything to wear soon. Perhaps tell your boy’s boy to get some flesh on his resumé before ridiculing yourself. PS (not the rider) this is criticism of YOU, not him.Jumpyjohn04-10-2026
- Yes Mouguel, thank you, we understand it’s important to you.Jumpyjohn04-10-2026
- Why are you reading post race comments if you want to keep the suspense? Do you do this with election results too? Next time, maybe think of warning us not to post until you’re ready.Jumpyjohn04-10-2026
- If you’d have created alias26 that might have worked or have you noticed anyone taking you seriously here?Jumpyjohn04-10-2026
- Del Toro is not even close to Remco, not in a single metric. But he may be within the next couple of years.awp04-10-2026
- Who knows, he may never reach his top level after this accident. Nothing else to prove and retirement may be the best option at this point
Front24204-10-2026 - With the injuries he has, it's probably best not to rush back, so it's ok if is form is poor for a while.Hills3304-10-2026
- He will come back next year and smoke everyone we all know it. With vengeance. The worriying part is that noone can beat UAE even when pogacar is hurt, other teams and captains cant beat Pogacaer domestiques lol...Montreal and WC was insane and if were honest how on the world can anyone beat pogacar on that team when noone can even beat his teammates. Del Toro is probably 2 best overall rider in world already.. Absolutely crazy team..miguel04-10-2026
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