Primoz Roglic gains confidence ahead of second Giro d'Italia ITT: "I'm not afraid of tomorrow"
Cycling
In stage eight of the Giro d'Italia the time had come: Primož Roglič's first attack that could really threaten Remco Evenepoel.
"This was the ideal day to try something myself," said the Jumbo-Visma leader against Het Nieuwsblad.
“Why did it take until today before I tried to put Remco Evenepoel under pressure? You can always make all kinds of plans, but the reality is sometimes just different. I'm always ready to grab any chance that comes my way. That final climb today was tough and steep, but I had the legs and was good. I am satisfied with my condition. But the opposition is also very strong.”
Roglič remarkably drove the world champion out of the wheel uphill. In the flatter end he managed to gain fourteen seconds on his major competitor, thanks to the help of Tao Geoghegan Hart and Geraint Thomas, who were able to follow him. “It is very nice that I was able to work with them at the end. I'm glad they helped me out."
In tomorrow's time trial, the roles can quickly reverse. In the opening time trial, the Slovenian lost 43 seconds to Evenepoel. But that does not mean that Roglič is not excited about the upcoming chrono ride. "I'm not afraid of tomorrow," he added.
Primož Roglič reduced his timelag to his biggest competitor, Remco Evenepoel to only 30 seconds but the upcoming ITT might shake things up completely. It's widely expected that one of the two will be wearing Maglia Rosa on the first rest day.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
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