Primoz Roglic admits having had dark thoughts after abandoning Tour de France - "I don't need to be part of the cycling world anymore and suffer all this"
Cycling
Primoz Roglic came agonizingly close to winning the 2020 Tour de France and every single year he's raced it again since, he's abandoned after crashes. This summer was no exception, falling several times in the second week and pulling out of the race that was his ultimate goal for the year. He admits he considered retiring from the sport after that.
"After all, I'm only human. And when what happened to me happened to me again, my thoughts went in the direction of what do I need, I don't need to be part of the cycling world anymore and suffer all this," Roglic said in an interview with Slovenian outlet Nedelo. "Even I only found out a few days later what kind of injury it was, that something was broken after all. At that time I had to take care of my health, I had to get to a state in which I felt fairly normal".
In 2021 he suffered from injuries until he couldn't continue the race; In 2022 he still supported Jonas Vingegaard but abandoned the race after fracturing vertebrae in a fall; and now in 2024 he crashed on stage 11 and then at high speed on stage 12... It wasn't reported until extensive tests weeks afterwards, but the Slovenian had fractured lower back vertebrae once again. But the speed at which he recovered and got back to his best form was impressive - not for the first time.
He returned to racing a the, and put on a wonderful ride to win his fourth Vuelta a España victory - equaling the record of Roberto Heras. But it was not easy to get himself back to the mental space to do so: "What followed was a look ahead and the realization that I never run out of new challenges. Of course I feel the pain, it's not pleasant."
"On the other hand, all these unpleasant events in my career, which I wished would not have happened to me, brought me also a lot of positive things. The support of my family and other loved ones, which I feel when picking up after falls, is exceptional," he admits. He used to to it's best, taking a few stage wins and a red jersey that will stand the test of time.
"Despite this support, it's not easy to pedal with pain, but this support makes it much easier for me to make decisions about how to proceed. So the decision to start the Vuelta again after another crash at the Tour was, in the end, quite easy," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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