Red Bull again in the success of success: Primoz Roglic convinces at the Giro start in Albania with strong time trials and is the best place for the classification favorites.
In the Giro, Primoz Roglic sets the course for another Grand Tour Triumph. The Slovenian conquered the pink jersey with the time trial on Saturday. He liked to lose it the next day, but on the first day of rest there is still ahead of all relevant rivals for the final classification in Rome. “I am happy that it went so and that the good feelings I connect to the Giro are back”said the Slovenian.
The “good feelings” relate to 2023. At that time he also conquered the jersey in pink after a time trial, but only on the penultimate day. However, it meant the victory in the overall ranking, at that time still for the Jumbo Visma team. Now Roglic was happy to quickly get rid of the responsibility for the leadership jersey.
Rosa jersey lost and still happy
His sports director Rolf Aldag sees it similarly. “Our goal is to have the pink jersey in Rome at the end of the giro. That determines our tactical orientation. To give up the pink jersey again, is therefore no problem at all”he said the sports show. It would only have been a problem for Aldag if the Spaniard Juan Ayuso, the nominal main rival of the Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe captain, too far would have been in front.
That is not the case. Ayuso continues to be the 15 seconds that Roglic got out of it when the second stage in Tirana was tired. “We will continue to focus on our main competitors”according to Aldag. Anyone who wears pink in between, currently ex-world champion Mads Pedersen, does not matter to those responsible for the German racing team.
The main thing is not as far away as the Canadian Ben O’Connor on the round of Spain 2024. He picks up in an escape group for more than six minutes. And Roglic, who also liked to hand in the leader jersey, had to fade out the rest of the tour to catch up again. He succeeded – and was an apprenticeship. “Now it shouldn’t be that many minutes”he said.
Roglic and the rare consistency on tours
With the early pink jersey and the excellent position in the classification, Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe had the rather unsuccessful spring forgotten. Only Roglic and the Florian Lipowitz, which was trumpeted by Paris – Nice, stood out positively. Roglic won the catalonia tour – against Giro -Rival Ayuso.
He has thus succeeded in winning the rare feat of winning the victory for eight years in a row on at least one World Tour Tour. Only Miguel Indurain was better with nine seasons in a row. Country man Pogacar is currently in a row in seven years of success. At least when it comes to Constance on tours, the older Roglic is still ahead.
New maturity of the 35-year-old
The 35-year-old looks pretty relaxed on this Giro. “I don’t care about results anymore. I’m too old to stress myself with such details”he said. It is more important to him to be healthy and function. In Rome, with a final round through the Vatican state, presumably also in front of the eyes of the new Pope, he then wants to be in pink. The signs for this are not bad. He and his new team got used to each other better. “We get on better now and Primoz is better integrated into the team”,, Stands Aldag.
Without Pogacar – Uae Emirates must change
An additional factor is new addition Jan Tratnik. It is not just a buddy and compatriot of Roglic. In order to be able to start early on time, he even dropped behind on the first stage. This made Roglic possible to sit behind Tratnik in the accompanying car before your own time trial. “So he could get a feeling for how fast the curves are, how quickly you can be in the roundabout. That was super important”, emphasized Aldag. Details like this can add up to success.
At UAE Emirates you have already noticed that it will not be as easy this year as in the last to win the Giro. After all, victory guarantee Pogacar is not at the start. “It’s easy with Tadej. You just do your job, and mostly it wins. If he is not there, we definitely have to drive differently”said Adam Yates, co-captain alongside Ayuso. Roglic and Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe can at least consider that indirect compliment.