“There was nothing to hide. I was all in, racing” - Primoz Roglic all smiles after starring in Montreal Worlds epic before late collapse ends medal hopes
CyclingSunday, 27 September 2026 at 22:35
Primoz Roglic finished the World Championship road race exhausted, without a medal and still sounding as though he had enjoyed himself.
For more than 30 kilometres in the second half of the race, the Slovenian had been among the riders making life difficult for the favourites, twice getting himself into the front selection alongside Mathieu van der Poel.
His opportunity began when Wout van Aert attacked with more than 80 kilometres to go. Van der Poel and Oscar Onley followed, Roglic and Anthon Charmig joined them, and Quinn Simmons crossed the gap to make six. With the group gaining around 40 seconds, Isaac del Toro raised the pace behind and pulled Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas into the chase.
“Yeah, including myself a bit,” Roglic told Cycling Pro Net when asked whether he had been surprised to end up in that group. “It was a bit of a new group for me to ride with them, but obviously I still had legs there at that moment. There was nothing to hide. I was all in, racing.”
Van der Poel attacks, Roglic comes back
The first time Van der Poel split the break, Roglic could not follow him. Simmons and Onley went with the Dutchman, while Roglic was left behind with Van Aert and Charmig. He kept riding, closed the gap at his own pace and rejoined the leaders.
Van der Poel’s next attack, with just over 50 kilometres left, shook off Onley instead. Roglic stayed at the front with Van der Poel and Simmons, and Ben Healy later reached them after riding across from the chase. The four held their place ahead of a race that had been splitting and reforming for lap after lap.
Their advantage did not survive the next wave of attacks. A larger group came back together, Del Toro forced another selection and Roglic was unable to follow. Brandon McNulty went clear soon afterwards and took the rainbow jersey; Roglic, emptied by his earlier efforts, faced a very different final stretch. “At the end I just ran out of energy. Empty,” he said. “It was a fight to finish, so I’m happy to finish this race.”
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“I was enjoying it today”
The conversation after the finish turned to the “beautiful ride” Roglic had spoken about at the Vuelta. “It’s always even more beautiful when you finish it,” he replied. “You definitely feel good when you finish it.”
Roglic said he has begun looking at his career and cycling from a different perspective. “It’s more relaxed. It’s beautiful, and definitely I’m enjoying it,” he said. “I was enjoying it today. I put really everything on the road.”
That did not make the missing medal irrelevant to him. “You want to win the races, or at least get a medal. They count here,” Roglic said. “But you put everything you have there.”
Asked whether he would race in Slovenia next Sunday, he offered a hopeful answer rather than a firm commitment. “I hope so. First I just want to relax a bit after this one,” he said. “Then I think I’ll be pretty fast on the home roads, and it will also be a pleasure to race there.”
The European Championships road race gives Roglic a possible next start in front of a home crowd, one week after his long afternoon at the front in Montreal.
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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- he backed del Toro to win over McNulty.whkman27-09-2026
- LOL! My thoughts exactly!frieders327-09-2026
- an amazing race from all angles even if McNulty didn't win. Healy closing the gap on his own, Remco coming back, jorgensen the ultimate teamate, Wout using himself up for remco, it was endlesswhkman27-09-2026
- first American to win since Lance...go ahead Lance hating fetishizers, weigh in on your hatred of Lance, this is your cuewhkman27-09-2026
- UAE still win with their domestiques with crazy solo even in WC and their pogacars domestiquges. Hahaha its impossible to beat that team. Wildmiguel27-09-2026
- how can you type and gargle Pogacar's balls at the same time?whkman27-09-2026
- Blah blah blah! Go back to kneeling at your Pogi shrine!frieders327-09-2026
- You really are clueless ! He's an American whether YOU like it or not!frieders327-09-2026
- Pogi can't win if he doesn't show up! Now back to your basement!frieders327-09-2026
- That was incredible. The whole race was such a classical version of a solo rider not being caught because no rider in the chase groups will use up their energy to have someone else win. And yet, Matthews gets silver?! Van der Poel got bronze?! I couldn’t look away for hours. That was a breathtaking race, SO much fun!RidesHills27-09-2026
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