Primoz Roglic’s impressive run in stage tours

It has fallen and risen a thousand times, and will continue to do so. His legacy could be even greater than the current one, one for which most cyclists would sigh. But his misfortunes have deprived him of it, though perhaps his curse gives more value to his conquests. Primoz Roglic, at 33, continues to win, continues to shine. He never tires of rowing, of showing that he is still in a position to fight with the best. It is fireproof. The umpteenth feat of his resume comes after a six-month drought without competing for that battered shoulder (he dislocated it in the 2022 Tour) that forced him to undergo surgery this winter, in a Tirreno-Adriatico in which he was able to raise the trident despite being still far from his best form. Lackluster, against rivals who had just performed at a high level in recent races, such as Enric Mas, Mikel Landa or Joao Almeida, it is also capable of imposing its law.

Primoz leaves his win tally at 69 after the Italian round, where he achieved another milestone to date unprecedented in his professional career: three consecutive stage wins. Thus ended a streak that speaks for itself of his regularity, despite all the difficulties he has had to overcome in his career. Of the last 20 stage laps he has contested, he has won the general classification in 14 and been on the podium in 17. An incredible winning rate of 70%, which began with the Itzulia in 2018 and continued with success in La Vuelta and in five of the seven events considered ‘one-week great tours’ (the Basque round, Tour de Romandie, Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice and Dauphiné). From that list he only needs to cross off the Tour of Switzerland and a Volta a Catalunya in which he will start next week (March 20-26) as the top favorite.

Roglic’s results in his last 20 completed laps

“It’s great to be back in the peloton like this. My main objective was to gain competition pace here. I got it. That I also took three stage victories and won the final classification, I certainly did not expect it”, explained Roglic, in statements to his team, about his latest feat, in addition to confirming that he is still not in his best condition: “Every year you grow older and wiser. Last week they confirmed that I’m on the right track, but that doesn’t mean I’m where I want to be yet. You have to keep improving and that motivates me to keep going. There’s a lot to work on.”

It seems difficult, due to a matter of age and role in the Jumbo, for him to be in a position to win a Tour de France again, but in his showcases he still has room for another great trophy to complete his collection: the Italy spin. The Corsa Pink, In which he already made the podium in 2019, it will be his great goal for the year and if the course of events continues to smile at him, Roglic will be in a position to aspire to the maximum. Of course, with the permission of a Remco Evenepoel who is in full concentration at altitude on Teide and that he postulates as his main adversary. As if the duel was unattractive in itself, both will arrive at the Italian round with the accounts pending from a past Tour in which Roglic was forced to abandon due to an ugly fall when he was in the middle of a comeback on the red jersey. We won’t have to wait long to see what may be to come, as both the faces will be seen in the next Volta. A most succulent appetizer.