Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic, known for numerous victories in Grand Tours and other competitions, is preparing for the 2024 season. Training at altitude in Teide, Tenerife, Roglic spoke about the move from Visma-Lease a Bike to BORA-hansgrohe , and about the dispute with his compatriot Tadej Pogacar.
Change of strategy at BORA
Roglic claims that the German team’s big change in mentality, now focusing on Grand Tours, was central to their decision to join BORA.
“This turn of events made me decide for this team. They have completely changed their strategy and goals in the last two years. It’s a completely different team now. I saw how they competed in the Grand Tours over the last two seasons. They are well prepared to support me”, revealed Roglic to the French newspaper L’Equipe.
Preparations for the new season
The first months of the year were intense for Roglic, preparing for Paris-Nice, where he will begin his season and face Remco Evenepoel. Followed by Itzulia Basque Country, and the traditional preparation for the Tour de France, where he will compete against his old team, and will lead the strong BORA-hansgrohe, which will probably feature names like Jai Hindley, Daniel Martínez and Aleksandr Vlasov, among others.
New environment, new challenges
For Roglic, moving to BORA is a new stage in his career, seeking a different environment to achieve his ambitions. “I needed a different environment”, admits the cyclist. With the notable problem in the last Vuelta, Roglic saw the need for change to pursue his dream of winning the Tour de France.
Dispute with Tadej Pogacar
Roglic also highlights the competition with Tadej Pogacar, who will do the Giro-Tour double this summer. “It’s great that he made this decision. He still doesn’t have the Giro d’Italia to his name. It might be easier for him to win than for me.”
“We still don’t know all the opponents, but it will be difficult for anyone to win. He likes rain and bad weather, so this year’s route should be perfect for him”, says Roglic.
Roglic concludes with an interesting insight into his relationship with Pogacar: “In 2020, I barely knew him, but now I know he is a really cool guy and a great champion. It’s difficult to describe our relationship because we do the same work, we come from the same country and we both live in Monaco.”
“We are also rivals. We get along very well and he is a great traveling companion and obviously he has all my respect”, he concludes.
