PRIMOZ ROGLIC JUMBO-VISMA
After a Vuelta a España win in 2019, Roglič proved he is a quintessential Grand Tour rider. With the Slovenian fully focused on the top step of the Tour de France podium for 2020, his rivals need to be on guard
Primož Roglič returns to the Tour de France in 2020 after missing La Grand Boucle in 2019 to focus on the Giro d’italia. However, his previous two appearances in the race in 2017 and 2018 showed his potential. They included a fourth place finish two years ago and a stage win in each appearance as well.
Three years ago Roglič bagged his first Tour stage win on a classic alpine mountain stage. After cresting the Col de la Croix de Fer and Col du Telegraphe, he attacked six kilometres from the top of the Col du Galibier. Time trialling to the summit he maintained a lead on the GC group before embarking on a 30km demon descent to Serre Chevalier to take the win.
His descending skills saw him to glory once again 12 months later when he attacked his rivals on the descent of the Col du Aubisque into Laruns. Despite taking the stage honours he just missed out on the podium in Paris finishing fourth. Despite this disappointment, Roglič had announced himself as a genuine Grand Tour contender
Consistency is king
Fully focused on targeting the Giro d’italia in 2019, the Slovenian started out the year in incredible form, the overriding theme being just how consistent he was in one-week stage races. The UAE Tour, Tirreno-adriatico and Tour de Romandie all came and went with Roglič stepping on the top step of the podium each time with overall race victories. He also racked up five stage victories across the three races. This run of form made him the overriding favourite heading into the Giro d’italia, where he duly won the opening stage time trial to take the maglia rosa.
However, it was clear that perhaps his early-season form may have arrived too early as he wasn’t as strong in the mountains despite bagging another time trial win on stage nine. The elite mountain goats sensed and took advantage of his weakness and nearly made him miss out on a podium position before a final-stage time trial into Verona put him back into third. Even though it may not have landed him a debut Grand Tour victory it was certainly a learning experience and another landmark achievement for the former ski-jumper, which would pay off a few months later.
With the third Grand Tour of the season – the Vuelta a España – his next big target, Roglič arrived in Spain fully rested and
raring to go, showing from the first stage to the last how his early season form was no fluke. After winning the stage 10 time trial into Pau he took the leader’s jersey and didn’t relinquish it all the way to Madrid. Riding strong on every stage including 10 top-10 stage placings over the race, despite young gun Tadej Pogačar taking the plaudits with stage wins and a podium place it was Roglič who rose to the top step to claim the overall and points classifications.
With 13 race wins over the entire season, with only his Jumbo-visma team-mate Dylan Groenewgen winning more with 15, Roglič’s attention will shift back to the Tour de France for this season – he’s fired many warning shots, and they’ll still be ringing in the ears of his general classification rivals at the Grand Départ in Nice.
Ready to challenge Ineos Grenadiers
Roglič can also count on the dubious blessing of the strength and depth of his Jumbo-visma team that can legitimately challenge the all-conquering Ineos Grenadier outfit on all terrain. The British team have dominated the race for the last decade, taking seven yellow jerseys out of the last eight editions of the Tour.
This has been typically down to the strength of their team with a number of riders who could be legitimate leaders for other teams in the peloton, controlling the race from the front before unleashing their leader for the win. Jumbo-visma can now play this game too.
Roglič will form a tag-team with Tom Dumoulin and although he would have had
Steven Kruijswijk by his side had he not been injured the rest of the support roster is also incredibly strong.
At the Dauphiné earlier this month it was they who were left mob-handed at the sharp end of stages in the mountains while Ineos’s supporting cast fell away. The work of both George Bennett and Sep Kuss will be vital to his success.
If Roglič can stay strong for the duration of the Tour de France, Ineos’s empire could well be set to tumble.