The winner of the Dauphiné came with a happy face, in addition to the brand new jersey of his team, now called Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe, this Thursday afternoon in Florence. Before the official presentation of the teams to the Tuscan public, Primoz Roglic displayed measured ambitions. “It’s summer, I’m happy to enjoy the heat, to be there with the whole team, it’s true that we are far from being favorites, there are great champions on this Tour but the team showed that it is strong. »
“Adapting to my new team, to this new environment, is already a lot of work”
It may not be enough to upset his compatriot Tadej Pogacar, or his former teammate Jonas Vingegaard. “He won the last two rounds, in France, and it will be the first time I ride against him,” explained Primoz Roglic. But frankly I don’t think too much about the opponents, adapting to my new team, to this new environment, it’s already a big job. I think about that rather than my opponents. There are stages of 200 kilometers almost every day. I am here with a great team behind me, to go as far as possible. »
One last chance on the Tour?
Having suffered a serious fall at the Tour du Pays Basque, and suffered new alerts during the Dauphiné, he wanted to be reassuring: “I’m fine, I’ve been fine in the last few days, I’m no longer in pain. I hope we’ll all perform well to show the cycling we love. My responsibility is to ride, to try my luck 100% for the general classification, I have a great team around me, I couldn’t ask for better.”
At 34, he didn’t want to imagine that this 2024 Tour could be his last chance to win the event, with the support of a new powerful owner: “I hope Red Bull will give me wings! It’s great to have Red Bull with us, to be part of this big project, to have a major player as a sponsor. I don’t know if it’s my last chance, I’m just happy. You have to seize every opportunity in life. Whether I win or not I’ll be happy, but I don’t want to have any regrets, that’s why I changed teams. What I want is to have fun.”
