“You can never write Primoz Roglic off” - Jens Voigt hails Slovenian legend as “old master” delivers again to claim European title
Cycling
Primoz Roglic delivered Slovenia the moment it had been waiting for at its home European Championships, claiming the men's individual time trial title in Šenčur and securing the nation's first and only medal of the event.
The 36-year-old beat Bruno Armirail by just over seven seconds over the 21.8-kilometre course, adding a first European time trial title to a career that already includes Olympic gold, four Vueltas and a Giro d'Italia victory.
For Jens Voigt, there was little surprise in seeing Roglic rise to another major occasion. “You can never write Roglic off,” the former professional told Eurosport.de. “He’s always there. If he doesn’t win, then he’s still somewhere second, third, fourth or fifth.”
Roglic had already shown in 2026 that he remained capable of fighting at the highest level, most notably with second place at the Vuelta a Espana. In Slovenia, he converted that consistency into another championship jersey.
A course that played to Roglic's strengths
Roglic did much of the damage early, taking almost 13 seconds out of Armirail by the first checkpoint before the Frenchman clawed back part of the deficit over the second half of the course.
Voigt believed the route gave Roglic an advantage over heavier specialists such as Stefan Küng and Jakob Söderqvist. “The course was hard,” he said. “Riders like Küng, with their bigger body weight, athletic riders, are more specialists for flat time trials. It was foreseeable that they would have less of a chance here than they would on a different course.”
With Tadej Pogacar absent, Roglic also carried much of the home expectation into the final event of the championships. “He rode very well and relieved the whole nation,” Voigt said. “After Tadej Pogacar didn’t start, he was the remaining big national cycling hero in Slovenia. And as the old master he delivered again at the home European Championships.”
That victory prevented Slovenia from finishing its home championships without a medal and gave Roglic another major title at 36.
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One more race before the future is decided
What comes next for Roglic remains less certain. His spell with Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is nearing its end, while speculation continues over where he will race in 2027.
Voigt sees no sign that Roglic's value has disappeared with age. “He races a lot, he’s always in the top ten, he brings in a lot of points,” he said. “This time everything worked very, very well for him, or actually worked perfectly. He’s a champion, he has almost 100 victories, and we’ll see where he rides next year.”
Before any move is settled, Roglic is expected to race Il Lombardia on Saturday. The road from Bergamo to Como will give him one final chance to add to a season that has already brought a Vuelta podium and, now, a European title in front of his home crowd.
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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