“Maybe I could have won the Tour, but perhaps I wouldn’t have then won all that I did" - Primoz Roglic reflects on dramatic day the Maillot Jaune slipped from his grasp
Cycling
Primoz Roglic has seen and done almost everything during his illustrious career as a professional bike rider, with one notable exception. the Tour de France. The closest he came was in 2020 where Tadej Pogacar snatched the Maillot Jaune from him in dramatically heartbreaking style.
“I was there to win and finish it off, so it was hard when I lost," the Slovenian reflects three years on from the disappointment in an open and honest conversation with Davide Cassani, Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Nino Morici and Cycling News. "But looking back, I have to be happy about it because afterwards, I won a lot of things."
What could have been a career-defining victory for Roglic, instead turned into a bitter example of what could have been. “Maybe I could have won the Tour, but perhaps I wouldn’t have then won all that I did, so the 2020 Tour actually gave me a lot. It always depends on how you look at things in life. You can be disappointed, but always take some positives from it and look to the future. We can always create our own future.”
Despite the way he has bounced back in the three years since, taking multiple Grand Tour victories, the Tour de France has remained illusive. So much so that Roglic has now departed Jumbo-Visma for BORA - hansgrohe and what he believes is a better shot at Tour de France glory.
“I know what is missing from my palmares,” Roglic previously stated after winning the Giro d'Italia earlier this year. “I don’t want to say the Tour is an obsession. I’ve won a lot, and so even if I stop immediately, I’m super proud of what I’ve won and what has happened. But it’s my responsibility to go for it, to try to do everything to win, to have no regrets and be proud of what happens.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐑𝐀, 𝖧𝖴𝖧! ❤️ This is the end. Thank you for everything, dear Primoz. 𝟕𝟒 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 Olympic Champion 🥇 4x Grand Tour 🚴🏼♂️ 18x ITT ⏱️ It’s not that we part ways that we stop loving each other. You leave our jersey in a better place.
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