Primoz Roglic and former ski teammate describe time-trial incident: "I reacted completely instinctively and tried to get him back in motion"

The Giro d'Italia was decided in the final time-trial to Monte Lussari. Three years ago Primoz Roglic lost the Tour de France on a similar day, but he got his vengeance as he jumped into the Giro win atop stage 20. It wasn't without drama as he had a mechanical throughout the climb, he and former ski jumping teammate Mitja Mežnar describe the urgent moments. 

"He's a super good friend. He was my roommate in the past when I was a ski jumper. He was one of the four guys in the team when we were junior World champs in 2007, in the same place in Tarvisio," Roglic said following the race. The one fan who was located at the site of the mechanical happened to be a compatriot and former teammate and roommate from his famous ski jumping days. A coincidence at a level few could have imagined. "It's incredible, huh?" said Roglic in his familiar tone.

Read also

UCI Rankings Update | Primoz Roglic soars to 2nd; Almeida, Thomas and Pinot surge through rankings

The dramatic moment saw the Slovenian lose around 15 seconds, but he stormed up the rest of the climb to overrun Geraint Thomas' lead. The help from the fan contributed in getting back on the bike as soon as possible, and only after the stage was finished was it discovered that the same fan happened to be someone from Roglic's past life.

"It was completely subconscious. When I saw that he was on the ground and had a mechanical, I was shocked," Meznar himself then told the Val 202 radio station. "But then I reacted completely instinctively and tried to get him back in motion as soon as possible to continue his fight. The whole thing unfolded extremely quickly."

Read also

“I was there in the key moments of the Giro but in the end, it was up to Primoz" - Sepp Kuss again aids Jumbo-Visma to Grand Tour success

How Giro d'Italia 2023's Prize Money was distributed between riders and teams - Primoz Roglic and Jumbo-Visma take biggest prize

Team Visma | Lease a Bike

@vismaleaseabike

·Follow

🇮🇹 #Giro Vincitore del Giro d'Italia 💞

Watch on Twitter

1.1K

Reply

Copy link

Read 10 replies