Primoz Roglic

This is the page about Primoz Roglic. The Slovenian cyclist, who spent years riding for the Dutch team Jumbo-Visma, made a switch to BORA-hansgrohe after 2023. He is considered one of the best stage racers in the peloton. IDLProCycling.com keeps a close eye on all news related to Roglic, along with maintaining a biography of his career.

Roglic's transition from ski jumping to cycling

Primoz Roglic was born on October 29, 1989, in Slovenia. Today, he is recognized as one of the world's top stage racers, but he began his athletic career on the ski jump ramp. Up until 2011, he won several titles in ski jumping, including a junior world championship as part of the Slovenian national team. However, in 2011, he had to end his ski jumping career due to a severe injury sustained in a fall.

During his recovery, Roglic discovered a new passion: cycling. He decided to fully dedicate himself to this sport, which led to a contract with Adria Mobil, a Slovenian cycling team competing in continental races. From 2013 to 2015, he rode for this team, demonstrating exceptional cycling talent. He achieved stage wins and impressed in time trials, earning him a transfer to the then LottoNL-Jumbo in 2016.

Roglic develops into a world-class cyclist at Jumbo-Visma

At the Dutch team, Roglic evolved into a top-level cyclist, initially excelling in time trials and later as a general classification rider. He started achieving significant results in stage races in 2017, finishing third in the Tour de Romandie and fourth in the Tirreno-Adriatico. The following year, he continued this momentum into the Tour de France, where he finished fourth, just off the podium and also claimed a stage victory.

2019 can undoubtedly be considered the best year of Roglic's professional career. In the spring, he won the UAE Tour, the Tirreno-Adriatico, and the Tour de Romandie, culminating in a third-place finish in the Giro d'Italia in early June. Just a few months later, the then 29-year-old Roglic achieved his greatest success: winning the Vuelta a España.

Tour de France remains a stumbling block, but Roglic secures gold and Vuelta hat-trick

In 2020, Roglic set his sights on victory in the Tour de France. After the prolonged coronavirus break, he showed excellent form at the Slovenian National Championships, defeating compatriot Tadej Pogacar. In the Tour, a duel ensued between the two Slovenians: Roglic appeared on track for the overall win but was unexpectedly ousted from the yellow jersey by Pogacar on the penultimate day, a major disappointment for him and Jumbo-Visma. However, he rebounded weeks later by winning the Vuelta for the second consecutive year.

In early 2021, Roglic fell on the last day of Paris-Nice, losing the overall victory. He did win the Tour of the Basque Country, then refocused on the Tour de France. However, his Tour campaign ended early. Roglic withdrew following a crash involving Sonny Colbrelli on the ninth stage.

Refusing to be deterred, Roglic headed to Tokyo for the Olympic Games, where he clinched the gold medal in the time trial. He then competed in the Vuelta, which he dominated for the third consecutive year. This victory marked the start of a highly successful autumn, highlighted by another overall win in the Vuelta and victories in Milan-Turin and the GP Emilia.

Vingegaard overshadows Roglic in a year full of crashes 

In 2022, the Slovenian again focused on the Tour de France, where he had a perfect preparation with victories in Paris-Nice and the Critérium du Dauphiné. However, misfortune struck Roglic in the fourth stage of the Tour: he crashed in the cobbled stage to Arenberg, dislocating his shoulder and breaking two vertebrae. Despite this, he played a key role in supporting Jonas Vingegaard, who eventually won the Tour for Jumbo-Visma. Roglic did not start the fifteenth stage.

Roglic then aimed for victory in the Vuelta, wearing the leader's jersey after four days. However, Remco Evenepoel outpaced him and Roglic found himself chasing the Belgian. Then, disaster struck again in the sixteenth stage of the Vuelta, where Roglic crashed heavily after a collision with Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), ending his Vuelta and the year 2022.

Roglic wins the Giro and moves to BORA

After his crash in the 2022 Vuelta, it was uncertain if Roglic would make the start of the new season. However, he managed to start in the Tirreno-Adriatico on March 6. The Slovenian immediately showed his good form by winning the fourth, fifth, and sixth stages. He clinched the general, mountain, and points classifications. He was also the strongest in the Tour of Catalonia, maintaining a six-second lead over Remco Evenepoel after a close duel.

Roglic's first grand tour of 2023 was the Giro d'Italia. Despite expectations of an easy win, it was a close contest. Geraint Thomas wore the pink leader's jersey until the final time trial. Despite a chain problem in the last time trial, Roglic managed to win the Giro, beating the Brit by 14 seconds, marking his first Giro victory in his career.

As a preparation for the Vuelta, Roglic raced the Tour of Burgos, where he was again the strongest, winning the overall classification. In the Vuelta, his team was dominant, with Roglic finishing third overall behind teammates Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss. He also won the eighth and seventeenth stages. The Tour of Lombardy was his last major race of the season, where he couldn't match his compatriot Pogacar and finished third. From 2024, Roglic will ride for the new team BORA-hansgrohe, aiming to win the Tour de France for the first time in his career.