Primoz Roglic does not rule out beating Tadej Pogacar at 2025 Tour de France "but my palmares will be fine if I don't get it"
CyclingMonday, 04 November 2024 at 18:54
Primoz Roglic rode the traditional Saitama Criterium in Japan yesterday and gave several interviews. Among other things, the Slovenian outlined his plans for 2025 and how the mighty task of beating Tadej Pogacar might be taken on.
In conversation with Marca, the record equalling 4 time winner of the Vuelta a Espana is more restrained about announcing his plans for the next campaign. "I don't know yet. Right now I'm in vacation mode here in Japan. I don't want to think too much about the program. There will be time," he explains. "We'll do it in December or during the training camp and we'll let you know. But for sure I won't start at the Tour Down Under, otherwise I'll be late. I won't start for a while, I want to take it easy now."
He is also asked the Tour de France which remains the most notable goal for him in the coming seasons. "I always like to win. I look to next season to try to still improve here and there. I have to do that in some aspects and also try to evolve as a team. I still have challenges that appeal to me. And one of them can be to win the Tour de France," says Roglic. "I have to analyse it. I know that if Tadej Pogacar is there it's difficult. I could say yes, I would like to win it, but also my palmares will be fine if I finally don't get it."
As for Pogacar, Roglic insists that he is the undisputed best in the peloton. "Right now it looks like it is, it's like that. Or at least it's very hard to match. But you never know how it's going to be next year. Maybe he'll be even better. We have no influence on him, I have to look at myself. If I can be the best version of myself, I could go with him and be happy," the Slovenian assesses.
"I like to win, I repeat. The best for me is when I'm in first place and there's no one around. But where we are now is quite clear. There is another one, Pogacar, who is one gear ahead. The only thing we can do is to improve ourselves and then see where we are each," continues Roglic.
Finally, he explains the huge change that his switch from Visma to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe entailed: "This year things have changed a lot for me. I've changed teams and even the name of the team itself has changed. New people have come in and this is a challenge for me. I come from a Jumbo Visma that won all the big ones in 2023 and now it's different. I'm busy making the team successful in the future. It's partly up to me to accelerate these things and help. Everyone wants the best from us," Roglic concludes.
claps 6visitors 5
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Not sure this type of show will always be looked on positivelyMistermaumau06-06-2025
- Strategy? What strategy? They had less than Viable had at the Vuelta Kuss won. When you read management trying to offload blame with turns like « we tried to encourage him » (IDT) to watch Yates, you have to ask, is anyone directing anything? How about TELLING him?Mistermaumau06-06-2025
- They don’t half come up with some crap to turn events into stories. Problem is, if all this was true and so influential, that means 1. Riders are lacking inherent motivation and possibilities for motivation, 2. it’s due to race radio chatter he won and 3. They were lucky no attention was given and race radio didn’t mention him. In fact you are basically admitting outside influence skewed the race and if it works, this technique might get exploited commercially in future by corrupt or biased staff, rivals and officials. So c’mon guys, let’s stay a little factual coz otherwise you’re only going to shoot yourselves in the feet.Mistermaumau06-06-2025
- Maybe Ayuso will ride Tour de France coming July to help Pogi better than Adam Yates. We don't know what Gianetti and Matxin going on their minds.
James2631806-06-2025 - Glad it worked for Yates, I don't believe for 1 second that UAE would conduct themselves like so with Pog. #noway
leedorney06-06-2025 - He'd won the Giro after all. That should put him as the strongest rider by itself. His rivals couldn't match him on the Finestre. Superior team tactics, but also superior legs by no means. He didn't even miss a doping test. Believe it or notBM06-06-2025
- Solid worker this guy 💪leedorney06-06-2025
- One of the amazing things about cycling is how many races are happening at the same time. Stage, GC, and (as is clear here) job. It’s what makes the sport so interesting. On screen maybe not much is happening, but and yet so much is happening.RidesHills06-06-2025
- In contract year, i would say that if team duties permit, you are allowed to market yourself.abstractengineer06-06-2025
- Now its not a good team for talent development and opportunities. With Tadej hogging the GTs and the Monuments and the rest left fighting for scraps, there is very little chance for leadership roles which are critical in development of future greatsabstractengineer06-06-2025
What I can't quite figure is why he didn't do Tour de Suisse this year. He only has two holes in his resume, and I thought his transfer to Bora was meant specifically to correct that. Yet he went to the Dauphine, which he had already won, while Adam Yates won TDS. Seems like the wrong choice to me.
Because Denk said "why not win TDS as a Tour de France champion", so Bora was delusional. And I don't think he would he won Suisse last year, his level wasn't high enough at that time
I would say it had something to do with how his crash(es) affected his build-up for the TdF, they probably felt the schedule suited the situation better. Without the Basque crash he might have done TdS instead as warm up for TdF.
Suisse is later than Dauphine, if anything, he would have more time to prepare for the race
I don’t think you got my logic, he was obviously preparing firstly for the TdF and secondarily whichever race he’d use as prep.
They probably chose to do the earlier race to give him enough recovery/transition time b4 TdF seeing as he had to hurry his form building after the not long before accident.
He could have prepared a bit longer to optimise form for TdS but then he might not have been able to hold that form until the last week of TdF because he’d have had too little time to build up gradually (this may not have been considered as important for a younger rider but even at Rogliç’s age, recovery is already slower).