"Without Pogacar, Vingegaard or Evenepoel, Primoz should be able to fight for the podium" - Roglic's coach confident in Vuelta a Espana chances

A three time Vuelta a Espana winner, Primoz Roglic is amongst the favourites to take home the Red Jersey once again in 2024 and the Slovenian leader of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe started the race incredibly well, setting the fastest time of all the GC hopefuls in the stage 1 individual time trial.

“After the Tour, Primoz was in a lot of pain,” says Roglic's coach, Marc Lamberts, who followed the experienced Slovenian from Team Visma | Lease a Bike to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe over the winter off season, in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad from stage 1 of the Vuelta a Espana in Lisbon. “He tried to rehabilitate as best he could at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in Salzburg, with intense physiotherapy and stabilization.”

So bad was Roglic's pain after crashing out of the Tour de France, even starting the Vuelta a Espana was in doubt for a while. “Primoz didn’t cycle for ten days, after which he slowly started again. We had doubts about the Vuelta, but in consultation with the doctors it was finally decided to go on a three-week altitude training camp in Tignes," Lamberts explains. "Primoz trained there in pain for the first ten days, but that was taken into account. The doctors had said in advance: ‘pain is the yardstick, only do what you can tolerate’.”

And so, Roglic made his way to Lisbon for the start of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana and as mentioned, started very well by setting the 8th fastest time in the stage 1 individual time trial but gaining potentially valuable seconds on all other Red Jersey rivals. This results bodes especially well for Roglic given his past experiences according to Lamberts. “When Primoz comes from altitude, a time trial on day one is usually not very good. At altitude you train ninety-five percent uphill, at fifteen, twenty per hour. In the time trial it will now immediately be at fifty per hour,” explains the coach.

In terms of rivals, Lamberts sees Roglic's former teammate and defending Vuelta a Espana champion Sepp Kuss as the leading challenger. "He had an altitude training camp and competition for the Vuelta. Guys like Joao Almeida and Adam Yates also come from the Tour, which gives little time for recovery, build-up and taper," Lamberts concludes. "Without Pogacar, Vingegaard or Evenepoel, Primoz should be able to fight for the podium. Let's hope that it is the highest step in the end."