Primoz Roglic set to start Vuelta after 50-50 scare but stage wins could replace GC ambitions following training crash
CyclingMonday, 17 August 2026 at 13:00
Primoz Roglic is now expected to take his place at the 2026 Vuelta a Espana, only days after his chances of starting were reportedly rated at 50-50 following the training crash that derailed his final preparations.
Both Gazzetta dello Sport and Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Monday that the four-time winner will line up when the race begins on August 22, although Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe have yet to officially confirm his participation.
Making the start may only answer one part of the uncertainty surrounding Roglic. According to Gazzetta, the Slovenian could use the opening part of the Vuelta to build his condition before targeting stage victories later in the race, rather than arriving with the general classification as his immediate priority.
That would be a very different Vuelta from the one Roglic had planned. His 2026 season was deliberately built around returning to Spain and pursuing a fifth overall victory, which would move him clear of Roberto Heras as the most successful rider in the history of the race.
Roglic's carefully planned Vuelta build-up unravelled after training crash
Roglic deliberately stayed away from both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this year, placing the Vuelta at the centre of a comparatively light programme.
He opened his season with fifth overall at Tirreno-Adriatico and later finished on the podium at Milano-Torino, while further stage-race appearances came at the Itzulia Basque Country, Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse. His only victory of the campaign so far arrived at the Slovenian national time trial championships at the end of June.
The plan was then for the Clasica San Sebastian and Vuelta a Burgos to provide his final competitive preparation before Spain. Both disappeared from the schedule after Roglic was hit by a driver while training.
Roglic subsequently shared an image showing significant bruising to the back of his leg and acknowledged that the accident was "not the best scenario", although he initially continued to speak of recovering in time for the Vuelta. Exactly when the collision happened and the full extent of the injuries have not been publicly detailed.
By the weekend, Gazzetta journalist Ciro Scognamiglio was reporting that sources put Roglic's chances of starting at only "fifty-fifty". Monday's reports now point towards Roglic racing after all, but with the competitive preparation he had planned in San Sebastian and Burgos completely removed. If Gazzetta's suggested scenario plays out, the Vuelta itself would become part of his route back towards race condition.
Roglic had been hoping to go for a record 5th Vuelta a Espana title
Record fifth Vuelta remains the backdrop to Roglic's return
The 36-year-old has won the Vuelta four times, taking his first Grand Tour overall victory there in 2019 before successfully defending the title in 2020 and 2021.
After crashing out while sitting second overall in 2022 and finishing third behind Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard in 2023, Roglic returned to the top step in 2024. That fourth victory drew him level with Roberto Heras for the most overall wins in the history of the race. A fifth would move Roglic clear of the Spaniard as the sole record holder.
That record attempt sat at the heart of his decision to make the Vuelta his only Grand Tour of 2026, even before Tadej Pogacar's subsequent confirmation added another major obstacle to his plans.
Pogacar will return to the Vuelta for the first time since his Grand Tour debut in 2019, when the then 20-year-old finished third behind Roglic and Alejandro Valverde while winning three stages.
Seven years later, Pogacar arrives as a five-time Tour de France winner, while Roglic was already facing a formidable task in the fight for red before the training crash complicated his own preparation.
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Roglic has recovered from disrupted Vuelta build-ups before
Roglic has, however, won the Vuelta after disrupted summers before. His 2021 victory followed the injuries that ended his Tour de France, while he again arrived in Spain after crashing out of the Tour when he won his fourth Vuelta in 2024. His unsuccessful 2022 attempt also followed another difficult Tour.
The difference in 2026 is the complete absence of his planned final race block. Roglic has not competed since the Slovenian championships at the end of June and will reach August 22 without either of the two races intended to bridge the gap into the Vuelta.
Four victories from six Vuelta appearances mean the record fifth title will inevitably remain part of the conversation if Roglic takes the start. For now, though, the latest reports suggest his more immediate task may simply be to find his race condition again before deciding what the final two weeks of the Vuelta can offer.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- What you've described is certainly possible. But if Pog didn't exist then various aspects may have been different, leading to other outcomes. Roglic would have won the Tour in 2020, and may have remained undisputed leader of Jumbo-Visma in 2021 and 2022. Visma would not have (still) been out for revenge in 2022, so may have instructed Jonas to keep supporting Roglic instead of going for the win himself. (and not have focused so much on developong Jonas). 2024 would not have been Jonas's hattrick year at the Tour, so after his Itzulia crash (if indeed he rode Itzulia) he might have skipped that Tour. But Jonas may have had to change teams to get out from Roglic's shadow. And so on, you see what I mean :) (Not to be taken too seriously)Hills3317-08-2026
- now it gets stupid. why on earth should everyone be proud of their country or even love it? i am german ...Ketterechts17-08-2026
- Van der Poel has to be higher than Vingegaard there I’d say. Vingegaard counts as of now as obviously a superb grand tour rider but certainly not a stand out all time great - and doesn’t even meaningfully compete in for example Liege - while VdP does stand out as an all-time great Classics rider. You can’t just stack everything too much towards the Grand Tour riders.AndrewK17-08-2026
- I think you will find THAT is not the reason because you find the same happens in all sorts of sports and other walks of life where there are no dangers. Celebrities, actors, musicians, athletes, etc. Most people (for many different reasons) don’t search very far outside their environment (job, village, nationality, race, social class, etc.) And yes, I’m saying it’s dangerous, I’m NOT saying you can make it safe but you can eliminate unnecessary risk without disproportionate costs. You don’t go climbing with a used rope or diving without backup, you don’t work on motorways without deviating traffic, you don’t touch electrical cables without switching off a fuse. The problem with incidents is that they usually occur because we’ve placed our trust in others assuming they’ve checked safety for us only to discover they cut corners and didn’t warn anyone. Read up on the Irish teen who died by electrocution in a shower in Greece and you’ll know what that means. No rider can go check safety during a race, if they could though, do you really think they’d accept racing down a dangerous swerving road knowing there was no-one ahead to block a car from entering at any time? As amateurs you often have to race on open roads where you’re told specifically to take care that sections are open to traffic, you NEVER see anyone cutting all the way to the inside of a blind corner at full speed in those situations, why? Because when you csn choose your own level of risk, you inherently decide better than what having faith alone can offer.Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- Equal but not the same, try thinking past the first degree, you have thousands of years of knowledge, education and progress within access to reach enlightenment.Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- Sorry to break it to you but this is hardly surprising as it’s pretty common. Most men would stay lazy assed f’s, lisers or dead if someone wasn’t behind them pushing them to be useful. Have a good look around you. Don’t forget your mother in your thoughts, or maybe you regret how you turned out, probably mostly thanks to her?Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- Don’t ask people to change their povs ;-)Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- And those 19 were probably spent plotting;-)Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- @mistermaumau if your point is that cycling is dangerous and no-one should want their loved ones to be in danger, well that is a completely irrelevant point because most of the peloton has long since accepted that. It's part of the reason why so many of the pros have spouses who are cyclists. Tadej Pogačar, Isaac del Toro, Giulio Pellizzari are three that popped into my head instantly
Rafionain-Glas17-08-2026 - Totally, You can go even further and criticise some of the biggest riders (some others can say they have little choice) but when you’re a superstar and can basically pick and choose who to ride for and under what conditions, what does it say about you (or the set-up) that you voluntarily continue to work for dubious people getting paid by immoral money? If your favourite riders accepts the past doping legacy then who are you to demand others should get ignored? Be a man and take things into your own hands, stop being a hypocrite, ignore them yourself, don’t comment or draw attention because the more you do the more you encourage their continued relevance.Mistermaumau17-08-2026
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