Primoz Roglic certainly still far from his best health: "He is still struggling with back problems after the fall in the Tour"

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is having a tough decision to make in the next few days. Primoz Roglic is a three-time winner of the Vuelta a España and he could potentially return even as a very big candidate for victory, but he may not because of his health. The most recent update is not the best for the Slovenian.

Team DS Patxi Villa said in an interview with El Diario Vasco. "Primoz is not yet healthy. He is still struggling with back problems after the fall in the Tour. He can train, but not at high intensity. I do not know to what extent we can think about racing in this condition."

This comes as bad news for those who hope for a return to racing at the Vuelta a España. He was initially in the provisional startlist for the Cla´sica San Sebastián that will take place this Saturday but the official lineup reveal does not feature him. Daniel Martínez, the possible (and perhaps likely) leader at the Vuelta will instead take on this role, with the likes of Sergio Higuita and Roger Adrià also outsiders to take into consideration for a result.

Roglic crashed on stage 12 of the Tour and has had to abandon the race for a third consecutive time due to crashes. In 2021 he bounced back to win the Vuelta; In 2022 he was again at his best at the Vuelta but crashed once again in the final week, abandoning the race whilst fighting for victory against Remco Evenepoel... 2024 is not yet certain.

Whilst initially there weren't fractures reported from the crash at high speed, following the Tour further analysis revealed that he did indeed have a fracture in his lower back which has slowed down his recovery. He is back on the bike for a few weeks but it is not clear how hard he can train.