• Friday June 28, 2024 at 12:00
Interview An extremely relaxed Primož Roglič was visibly at ease at the start of the Tour in Florence. The Slovenian looked sharp and – against his nature – took his time to answer the barrage of questions from journalists. It is clear: the 34-year-old Slovenian is ready to take on the younger generation in the coming three weeks. “I hope that together we can make it a good fight,” said the three-time Vuelta a España winner before the start.
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Primož, what is it like to be here just before the start and are you ready for the fight with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard?
“It’s good to be here, luckily it finally feels a bit like summer. I’m enjoying it. But I also have to say that we are absolutely not among the favorites with the team. We are up against great champions. But my teammates have shown in the last games that they are strong. We are looking forward to having fun in France. Or in Italy first, sorry!”
How are you doing after the crashes in the Critérium du Dauphiné and what do you expect from Jonas?
“I’m ok thanks. Although I now sit comfortably on a chair and not on my bike, haha. I am ready. I’m looking forward to the start on Saturday. All the favorites and all the riders who start the Tour have prepared themselves down to the last detail. Everyone will be ready. And hopefully everyone is at their best, so that we can show the race at the highest level.”
What is it like to be riding against Vingegaard, whose mentor you have been a bit in recent years?
“He’s won the last two editions. For me, it would be cool to add the Tour to my list of achievements, because he’s still missing. But I have to say that I don’t think too much about my competitors. With a new team and new teammates, we have enough work to do ourselves. We have to fine-tune ourselves, to put each guy in the right place to do the right job. That’s what I’m mainly concerned with, so that we can perform better together.”
Roglic and Vingegaard at the Angliru last year – photo: Cor Vos
Do you expect a man-to-man fight in the coming weeks, or are the teams very important? And how would you compare your team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe to UAE Emirates and Visma | Lease a Bike?
“We all know that cycling is a team sport. The stages are two hundred kilometers long and every boy in the team has his own qualities. Unfortunately for those guys, people on TV only see the battles between the leaders in the last kilometers. There it is indeed man-to-man. Then it is up to us, the leaders, to finish it in the best possible way. Sometimes this means you win, sometimes it doesn’t. But before that, every teammate has a chapter in that whole story. Without them the best results are not possible.
As for the balance of power: we’ll see, huh? I especially hope that we can exceed our preparations. If we succeed, we will be happy.”
You are now 34 years old. Now you are as young as you feel. But do you feel like this is your last chance to win the Tour, given your age?
“It’s true what you say. I still feel twenty years old, haha. I’m just happy. Every chance you get in life… First of all, to be here, to be at the start on Saturday, is something. I don’t really worry about these kinds of questions. But it is true that I even changed teams, to really get the chance to go for the Tour victory.
But still: at the end of the day, when I look at myself and whether I win the Tour or not, next year there will be a new edition. And the year after that too. But it remains day and night. My family and I will not change because of it. The facts are on the table. I am just happy. I just don’t want to be able to blame myself for anything. If you put everything into it and I do my best, I can live with that. Whether it is the last Tour I do, or maybe I do ten more! As long as I enjoy it, I will keep doing it.”
How does the arrival of Red Bull change for you and your team?
“It’s fantastic to be part of this big project. A big sponsor like Red Bull, a really big player, is a real game changer for the entire cycling sport. It makes the teams stronger, which ultimately makes the riders stronger. They push the level of cycling even higher. In the end, that’s the best for all of us. But for the next three weeks, I especially hope that it gives our team wings, haha!”
Will we soon also see Roglic in yellow? – photo: Cor Vos
2024-06-28 10:03:39
#Relaxed #Roglic #care #Tour #victory #happy #important
