Patrick Lefevere believes Roglic's move to Lotto would chase marketing over sporting goals: "Not many teams are lining up to sign him"
CyclingSaturday, 15 August 2026 at 09:00
Primoz Roglic is currently one of the faces of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, however his three-year stay at the German team has not quite bore the fruits the team managers would have imagined - despite a 2024 Vuelta title. That's why, for next season, the 36-year-old Slovenian remains without a contract at the moment.
Of course, there remains a strong interest in the rider with top-10 results from Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour de Suisse this year, but it's no longer the sort of teams who belong among traditional Grand Tour powerhouses. Instead, Lotto-Intermarché have emerged as a strong contender for his signing.
"We have to be honest: that means teams aren't exactly lining up to sign him," writes former Soudal - Quick-Step manager Patrick Lefevere in his Het Nieuwsblad column.
Lefevere furthermore suggests that Lotto-Intermarché may be looking to bring a new face of the team, after departures of Lennert Van Eetvelt and Arnaud De Lie, rather than an actual leader with ambition to win the biggest races.
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With that in mind, Lefevere returns to several of Lotto's previous transfers. He refers to John Degenkolb, Elia Viviani, and Philippe Gilbert, during his comeback to the team. The three riders spent combined six seasons at the Belgian outfit at the brink of their careers - but without any major success.
"They recorded a grand total of four victories together, not a single one of which was in the WorldTour," notes Lefevere.
Trying to cover up massive underlying problems
The appeals are not hard to miss; a well-known rider provides prestige and gives a team the opportunity to raise its profile with sponsors, supporters, and the outside world.
In principle, Lefevere does not find anything fundamentally wrong with such a signing policy... as long as the salary and results don't mismatch for too long, becoming burden on a team's budget - such as the acquisition of Chris Froome by Israel - Premier Tech in 2021.
Therefore he does not view the strategy as reasonable for a bottom-pack WorldTour team struggling to survive in the top category. And with most leaders heading in opposite direction.
However in that regard, Lefevere struggles to see a clear sporting vision with Lotto-Intermarché whose only long-term consistency seems to be to lose their leaders once they grow into the leader status.
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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