National Championships - Primoz Roglic back in Slovenian jersey as veteran dominates time trial

Primoz Roglic ended a six year absence at the Slovenian National Championships and was instantly back in the medals thanks to an impressive time trial performance, taking his third elite national title.

It's his second in the individual time trial, adding to his one road race win. The Red Bull veteran took his first gold against the clock ten years ago in 2016 during his cycling rise that would eventually see him win five grand tours - including four Vuelta a Espana.

He wore the Slovenian jersey again in 2020 after a win in the road race, flying the flag in the condensed season after Covid-19 restrictions wreaked havoc on the schedule.

And fast forward to 2026, six years after Roglic last competed at the championships, he was back on the podium at the end of Friday's elite men's time trial. He dominated the 28.8 kilometer course to set a time of 34:25 - an average speed of 50.19 kilometers per hour.

That was enough to gain a huge 1:28 gap ahead of 21-year-old Bahrain Victorious rider Roman Ermakov in second place. Rounding out the podium, Bahrain's other rising star Jakob Omrzel took third place. The 20-year-old finished 1:41 behind Roglic - 16 years his senior.

Elsewhere on Thursday afternoon, Belgium's individual time trials took centre stage. There was a first win for Bahrain's Alec Segaert in the men's while Lotte Claes upset the odds in the women's race.

Segaert, a prolific time trial rider, edged Tim Wellens to take the gold medal and win his first elite national title. Claes too took a major win, unseating Lotte Kopecky's dominance of the championships as the SD Worx - ProTime rider missed out on the podium.

In other countries, there were even closer calls. Nils Politt sealed the German champion's jersey for his Tour de France team time trial outing next weekend, beating Max Walscheild by a mere second. In Portugal, Antonio Morgado beat Rafael Reis by a second as well.

National Championships road races will kick off on Saturday and Sunday as a new batch of winners will be crowned.