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Where is Primoz Roglic (32) at the start of the Vuelta? Nobody knows exactly, but assume that he is ready: “It is clear that we are going one hundred percent with Primoz for the overall victory,” Jumbo-Visma assures.
Jan-Pieter de Vlieger
A difficult preparation and then having to start today at the Vuelta with a team time trial: a challenge for every ‘normal’ rider, no problem for Primoz Roglic. “Primoz at eighty percent is still one of the better time trialists of the team,” says Mathieu Heijboer, head of performance at Jumbo-Visma. “Even at eighty percent, he doesn’t get into trouble. Of course: to one hundred percent he is a vergilmaker. The question is whether he can already be that.”
There is no clear answer to the question with which form Roglic will start at the Vuelta. It is a kind of calculation, with pluses and minuses and without an exact result. To start with the positive: “Primoz was able to complete a few good training sessions,” says Heijboer. “He is fit and injury free. He has prepared for the Tour to win it, with a very wide training block beforehand. That is not gone now.”
The column ‘minus’ then: “Primoz certainly missed a considerable part of the training sessions. And when he started again, his stamina was also low due to the pain in his back. His preparation was certainly not ideal, but it has not been the case for the past two years. Last year the Games were in between, which made it complex. Two years ago he ended the Tour with a terrible mental blow (he lost the yellow card to Pogacar in the penultimate stage, ed.). That did not prevent Primoz from winning the Vuelta.”
Merijn Zeeman previously called Roglic “the best rider in the world in leaving disappointments behind”. Heijboer agrees: “Mentally Primoz is certainly ready for the Vuelta. He is positive and creates atmosphere in the team.”
Has the back recovered?
There is no precise diagnosis of the injury with which Roglic left the Tour this year. Jumbo-Visma does not disclose it because “something like this belongs to the medical field”. Heijboer assures: “There was no medical necessity to leave the Tour, but it is very logical that at a certain point it was no longer possible for Primoz. It’s great that he lasted so long and could still be so valuable to Jonas Vingegaard in perhaps the most important stage of the Tour.”
It is clear that the problem is at the level of the vertebrae, which may or may not have been cracked, broken or bruised. It is unclear whether the back has fully recovered at the start of the Vuelta. According to Heijboer, he is “completely pain-free”. Roglic himself says that he “still has problems with certain movements”.
The final conclusion when you put everything together? “Primoz is certainly ready for it,” says Heijboer. “It is clear that we are going 100 percent with him for the overall victory.”
