Primoz Roglic confirms he will not race between May and August - "I would like to spend some time with my family"

Back when Remco Evenepoel was announced at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Florian Lipowitz took the step of finishing on the Tour de France podium, there were lots of questions on what Primoz Roglic's role and goals would be. The Slovenian has cleared out the situatino a little better at Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Slovenian battled for the Giro d'Italia last year but an illness saw him abandon the race without discovering where his current form can take him in the Grand Tours. At the Tour de France he finished eighth in the overall classification, although he was to finish fifth - Roglic when on an all-day raid on the final competitive day and then lost an immense amount of time.

Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz both declared their intention to race the Tour de France; Whilst Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley, fresh off a successful Vuelta a España, were designated for the Giro d'Italia. Roglic in the middle of all this was designated as the leader for La Vuelta, where he has the chance to break the victory record if he takes another overall title.

But his schedule looked incomplete, with some racing in March and April, and then a long break until August where he will start the Grand Tour, potentially another preparation race. Many hoped he would start the Tour de Suisse, the only top World Tour stage-race he doesn't have in his palmarès as of yet.

But this will not happen, and in fact Roglic isn't having any racing in that period as a deliberate choice. He has been given the freedom not to race during the summer, ending his campaign at the Tour de Romandie in late April and then only returning to action in August.

“I decided that, albeit in consultation with other people within the team. We have coordinated the various programs, this is okay," he said to Peloton. Ultimately, it is a calendar choice that is extremely rare in a top rider, to skip racing altogether during a packed three-month period, but is the advantage the Slovenian received from the German team's additions.

"I would like to be home for a while. I haven't been home for quite some time. I would like to spend some time with my family. I still have a lot of motivation and enjoyment in cycling,”