Tucked away in the southern French Alps, the ski resort of Orcières-Merlette doesn't enjoy the renown of fabled summits like Mont Ventoux, Alpe d'Huez, or the Col du Galibier. Nevertheless the eyes of the cycling world will be directed towards it today, with Tadej Pogačar and his Tour de France rivals finishing stage 18 on its category-one slopes.

The personal goals of each rider today will be many and varied, from winning at the top to simply making the time cut. And while you might imagine Pogačar has little left to prove in this year's Tour de France, he has unfinished business at today's destination. Last time the race finished here was his Tour debut in 2020, on stage four. The young pretender was beaten to the punch by countryman, rival and old-hand Primož Roglič, riding then for Jumbo-Visma.

Roglič, who was on his way to coming as close as he ever had to winning cycling's biggest prize two-and-a-half weeks later, sprinted home at the front of a 20-strong elite front group, with Pogačar latching on to finish second – the dynamic riding style we've all become so used to already plain to see.

As you might remember, being during Covid-era, that stage took place in September in front of a restrained though still surprisingly big crowd.

Still only 21 then, Pogačar ultimately had the last laugh in that race, taking his debut Tour victory on the penultimate day's time trial at Planche de Belles Filles. But Pogi likes to win, and at Orcières-Merlettes he has yet to do that. It would be no surprise to see him correct the record today.

The 185.3km stage begins where yesterday left off with a Jasper Philipsen win in Voiron, well to the north-west. From here the peloton makes its way over the numerous climbs that fringe the Alps, starting with the the cat-one Côte d'Engins, which, at 11.5km, 5.4% and topping out at 854 metres, must surely be on the borders of the Côte / Col definition. The riders crest this at just 35km, and it's followed mid-stage by the Côte Monteyard (cat-two) and the Côte des Terrasses (cat-three), which comes just before the intermediate sprint.

This takes place at the ominously named Corps, and both Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will do all they can to get the points here and boost them at the top of the green jersey classification.

From here the road trends upwards for the next 55km or so, all the way to Orcières-Merlettes, although there is a cat-three to deal with at 166km, the Côte de Saint-Leger-les-Mélèzes. The final climb proper starts at around seven kilometres to go, with a shallower first kilometre segueing to a gradient of around 7% all the way to the line.

It was only five months ago that Primož Roglič was wearing ankle socks at the Tour de France and allegedly telling the rest of the peloton that he didn’t care.

In that same race, his much younger Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe teammate Florian Lipowitz outperformed him to secure the final spot on the podium, and a week after the race ended it was announced that Roglič’s long-time rival Remco Evenepoel would be joining Red Bull for the 2026 season.

Roglič’s days as a Tour de France contender appear to be over – and next season the only Grand Tour he is set to ride will be the Vuelta a España.

It has led to many assuming that Roglič, who turned 36 in October, is preparing for his final year in the peloton. But the Slovenian has insisted that despite his blasé comments and his incredibly relaxed demeanour, he has no plans to retire in a year’s time.

Speaking at Red Bull’s 2026 launch event in Mallorca, Roglič quipped that he was hoping that the team boss Ralph Denk would announce a new contract extension for him on stage, as he did with Lipowitz, Giulio Pellizzari, and Lorenzo Finn.

“I was not mentioned before by Ralph with the extensions – I was maybe hoping a bit that he would but he didn’t say my name,” Roglič chuckled.

“I want to race at this moment for 10 more years. As long as I will feel that hunger, or as long as it will make me happy at the end – because I have to be happy and I have to enjoy it – I will continue.

“Do you want it or not? It’s somehow connected with the results that you are achieving, but it’s not everything. We will see. I have to go day by day, and year by year.

“[Hunger] is the thing that probably all winners have inside them. It’s hard to say that you are born with it, but somehow you grow up and you have it. When you’re 10-years-old or whatever, competitiveness and drive are all the things you need [to succeed], and it’s still inside me. You wake up and you want to do everything to be the best.”

Though Red Bull rarely announce the length of a rider’s contract, it is widely believed that Roglič’s deal with the team will expire at the end of the 2026 season. Would he drop to a lower-ranked team in order to continue his career?

“I don’t want to think about that,” he said. “I need the hunger and the will to still compete with the best ones to be the best. So in this case you shouldn’t look down but up.”

With Lipowitz and Evenepoel preparing to lead Red Bull’s two-pronged attack at next year’s Tour, there is no space for Roglič. Instead, he will head to the Vuelta to attempt to win a record-breaking fifth title.

“You can suggest that [he was surprised not be in the Tour squad],” he said. “If I could choose one race to win, I would sign for the Tour de France. It’s not a secret. But the reality is different.

“The level that I was finishing [last year’s Tour] was different. The first point to consider about myself is that you know how to find the way to be competitive, to compete for the victory.

“If I’m second in the GC of the Tour or winning the Vuelta, I know what I choose. I win the Vuelta. It’s simple. It’s easy to so say it, but to do it… even trying to win a stage in [February’s Volta a] Valencia is hard.”

That all said, Roglič isn’t ruling out the possibility of him making an appearance in either the Tour or the Giro d’Italia next season. “If I’ve learned something over the years, it’s that there are always some chances.

“The fact is you need to put something in the plan. You need to have some planning because there are a lot of people around and we cannot all be freelancers.

“But if you are capable of achieving good results, it’s normally not a problem to go to the race, But it’s more the first one to get to the level [required] that can achieve that.”

Primož Roglič has welcomed the signing of Remco Evenepoel to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, saying he hopes the pair can “achieve great things together”.

It was announced earlier this month that Evenepoel will leave Soudal Quick-Step after seven seasons with the squad, and join Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe from 2026.

The move led to questions about Grand Tour leadership within the German team, after Roglič and Florian Lipowitz finished eighth and third respectively at July’s Tour de France.

Roglič has now spoken for the first time since the signing was unveiled, telling the Dutch press he is “happy” with the arrival of Evenepoel.

“He’s special,” the Slovenian told Nieuwsblad and In de Leiderstrui at a post-Tour criterium in the Netherlands. “Remco has already won quite a few races, so I hope we can achieve great things together."

A world and Olympic champion in both the time trial and road race, Evenepoel has focused his efforts on Grand Tour glory in recent years, finishing third on debut at last year’s Tour, but withdrawing on stage 14 this year due to fatigue.

Between them, he and Roglič have won six Grand Tours across their careers; the Slovenian has won four Vuelta a España titles and a Giro d’Italia, while Evenepoel won the Vuelta in 2022.

Asked if the two can convert their potential into a Tour de France yellow jersey, Roglič said: “The Tour is still a long way off. The last one only just finished, and it's not yet certain whether I can actually ride it next year. But of course, we will work hard to achieve the best together.

“We still need to make progress, and hopefully we can improve together,” he continued. “The team is growing, but there's still a gap with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.”

Reigning Tour champion Pogačar and two-time winner Vingegaard have shared the last six yellow jerseys between them.

In a team statement released at the time of Evenepoel's signing, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe hailed the Belgian's arrival as a “clear signal” for the team, which hopes to become “one of the most attractive focrsed on the international cycling stage.”

“[Evenepoel] brings not only exceptional athletic talent, but also a remarkable mindset,” team CEO Ralph Denk said. “His determination, professionalism, and relentless drive to succeed are truly inspiring.”

It’s been the intriguing subplot of the Tour de France so far: is Primož Roglič even bothered about doing well?

Previously such an unthinkable proposition – this is, after all, a fierce competitor who has won five Grand Tours and almost 100 races – Roglič began the race by delivering an oddly humorous and blasé press conference in which he laughed his way through and stated that “I don’t really care much” when asked if this could finally be the Tour in which he buries years of heartache. The message he was trying to project was that he doesn’t need the Tour to define him.

And he absolutely doesn't, but most assumed his laissez-faire attitude was just an act, a ploy to detract attention from him. Yet that isn't the case: his indifferent attitude continued when he lost 39 seconds on day one due to crosswinds and he stated once more that he wasn't bothered. Three days later, when he finished 32 seconds adrift to winner Tadej Pogačar on stage four, he once again trotted out the same line: “Like I always say, I always want to win, but in this case I don’t care about the time gaps,” he said.

We’re used to the Slovenian reciting the same few lines over and over again, and at least this one is more entertaining than his usual chat of taking it day by day, you know, and needing good legs eh, but his mannerisms and his public performances – both vocally and on the bike, where he is now 2:30 off Pogačar in the GC after only five stages – have been both unexpected and curious.

Concerning, too? The question people are now asking is how Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, the team that paid several millions of euros just 18 months ago to bring him on board, are taking his comments. “If he wouldn’t care he wouldn’t do a perfect warmup, a perfect food plan, a perfect sleep pattern, and on a final like yesterday [stage four] you wouldn’t take such a high risk that you have to take the lead in the front, so he does care of course,” the team’s lead sports director Rolf Aldag told Cycling Weekly.

“I think what he tries to say is – and it's very clear – is that he’s achieved a lot in his career, he has a family, he is healthy, and he’s not going to live or die because of the Tour de France. I do think in that sense he does not care, but he is trying his best, that is very obvious. If you do not care, you do not spend three weeks on altitude at 2,500m and suffer through all the heat and cold training sessions.”

There is a justifiable explanation behind Roglič’s apparent apathy: just over six weeks prior, he abandoned the Giro d’Italia after four crashes and was playing catch-up to be fit for the Tour. Just getting here, he claimed, took a lot of energy.

“It was quite tough if I’m honest to come here and it’s been a tough start,” he said after stage four. “If I would be flying I would be with one leg there, but I am suffering a lot these days to get through.”

According to Aldag, both Roglič and his young teammate Florian Lipowitz are performing to pre-race expectations, and they aren’t pressing the panic button. “We set a maximum deficit that we could adjust, and we are well inside that,” the veteran German DS said.

“We’re 2:30 [behind], and if after the next four next stages we’re at the same time then I think everything is still possible. Just remember that last year second was six minutes plus [to winner Pogačar], third nine minutes plus, and the fourth was 19 mins [adrift].

“So talking 2:30, getting into the big climbs healthy and fit, not mentally or physically exhausted, then you see what the outcome will be. I just refuse to draw any conclusions or make any predictions before we have climbed the first big climb.”

A podium finish is Red Bull’s big objective, but at what point do they change tact? “If a podium isn’t realistic we should switch, but until now it is, and I think we said clearly we target a podium in the Tour de France and that remains our goal for now,” Aldag continued. “If we have to adjust it, then we adjust it, but right now we still see good opportunities and possibilities.”

Should Roglič give up on GC, is he, in his current condition, even physically capable of winning stages? “I would never push away a stage win, but it’s not easy,” the four-time Vuelta a España winner said. “First of all you really need to have the legs. If I do have them I’d definitely go for it.”

More to the point, does he even care about trying to win stages? “I put everything out on the road day after day and we see what that means at the end,” he stated.

This is the new Primož Roglič: liberated, free, loose, nonchalant, incredibly blasé. Even Aldag has to laugh at his star rider. “He is really fun!”

Primož Roglič is used to being chilled, projecting a nonchalant persona. Cool, calm and collected is a phrase he epitomises. But this, the deep and prolonged reflection, free of his usual cliches, was something else. This was Primož Roglič without pressure and stress, this was the Slovenian liberated. No more asking him if he’ll ever win the Tour de France, he’s totally at peace with his career arc.

“Everyone is writing their own story and their own things. This is my story and I am the main actor,” the 35-year-old told the assembled press ahead of his seventh Tour, the race in which he so heartbreakingly lost yellow in 2020, and has suffered more subsequent pain in the ensuing years, failing to finish the last three editions.

“Everybody has their own story. You all know mine: I came from winter sports, ski jumping and switched to the road bike. It still, for me, feels incredible – crazy, actually – to be here, to be present in the biggest event in cycling, to have some impact and to try to do my best.”

For the best part of the last decade, after he so famously swapped sports in his mid-20s, his best has been winning one-week stage races, four Vueltas a España and one Giro d’Italia. But the Tour has always remained elusive, the only race that refuses to be Roglified. He’s felt the pressure and the expectation to win yellow, but now he no longer talks himself up.

“With the way Tadej [Pogačar], Jonas [Vingegaard] and Remco [Evenepoel] are riding, about myself I don’t really care too much,” he said. “We all know in the end what races I won and the races I didn’t yet win. Yes, I have unfinished business with the Tour de France, but on the other hand, winning it or not, I’m almost 36-years-old, and I am happy and proud that I am able to come to the Tour de France and be part of the biggest cycling event in the world.”

Does he still dream of winning the race? “No, I look at the race realistically. Like I said, winning it or not, it is what is. Myself, my family, everyone around me, it will be the same afterwards, but for sure it’s still a challenge to keep me going.”

It’s a conscious decision to let go, a new game plan perhaps to try to carve out some luck in the race that has so often been his nemesis. “With obviously growing up, not getting younger but definitely getting older, you learn some things and what actually helps you,” he went on. “From this point, it’s helping [me to be more relaxed], to look at the facts that you are competing with Tadej, who is on another level, and others also.”

Roglič only tends to finish a race one or two ways: either as the winner, or at home, having crashed out. His last one, the Giro d’Italia, ended the latter way. “I was finished after the Giro,” he said. “I was on antibiotics with a bacterial infection and all I could do [since] was put in the work day after day. Yes, I was suffering, on my knees, but now we’re here and we will see.

“With every situation I try to learn something. It’s always easier to learn when something goes wrong or not the way you want. When you’re winning and doing good, it’s hard to learn from it, it’s hard to be realistic or look realistically in the mirror. With shit things, they show you; without bad things, you don’t know what the good things are. You always have to try to learn something out of every situation.”

Despite having won 91 bike races – ninety-one – Roglič is as synonymous with defeat as he is triumph. He’s had plenty of practice learning from bad moments. “It’s not only about the victories, and from my personal career, I don’t remember a lot of victories if I am honest, but the hard moments are what I remember more.”

This, a reminder, is Primož Roglič speaking, a man usually of very few words. Still here is, open, letting us all into the pain he’s felt through the years. But now he’s free. There is, of course, a serious point: Roglič, it appears, is bidding au revoir to his Tour chances. The time will come to maybe critique this approach, but for now let’s just embrace a different, authentic Roglič. “I really have nothing to prove to no one. I just want to come to Paris, take a champagne, smile, and we will see,” he smiled.

Testament to his laissez-faire attitude, he’s not even checked the route in detail. “We probably have a meeting tomorrow so I’ll see it then,” he said, nonchalantly.

But this is all not to say that Roglič is giving in from kilometre one. He’s too much of a competitor for that. “We’re all starting from zero, we’re all just saying something hypothetically. We of course fight for every second. I don’t expect Jonas or Tadej to push me up mountains, but the guys are strong. I only have to do my best.

“I’ve always definitely tried to do everything, to be able to come here as good as possible. How good it will be [this year] we will figure out sooner or later. But of course, being who I am, it’s always my dream to fight, to work and to do my best. Every athlete has the mindset to be the best. And in the end the place you get is what you deserve.”

With the final tune up races out of the way, the Tour de France kicks off in Lille on Saturday, with the yellow jersey on the line over the next three weeks.

The three main favourites to win overall are still the same trio of riders that made up the podium: 12 months ago: Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, with all three fresh off the back of an appearance at the Critérium du Dauphiné, which was won by Pogačar. Despite the Slovenian coming out on top by some margin, his main rivals for Tour victory showed moments of promise at the week-long stage race and will have plenty of room for optimism before the race starts.

Pogačar remains on top, obviously, but Vingegaard will be able to take heart going into the race due to Visma-Lease a Bike fielding possibly the strongest team in years.

Beyond the big three, there are plenty of other riders heading to Lille who could have their say. Read on for Cycling Weekly’s guide to the contenders for overall victory and the podium at this year’s Tour de France.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

If it wasn’t clear enough already, Pogačar’s victory at last month’s Critérium du Dauphiné further cemented his status as the man to beat this July. The Tour’s amuse-bouche race was the first time the Slovenian had competed against both Vingegaard and Evenepoel since they finished 1-2-3 in Nice last year, and he beat them both at a canter, dropping them effortlessly when the road went uphill.

Last year’s Tour marked Pogačar’s third overall title, and his most resounding yet; he won by over six minutes, claiming six stage victories for good measure. Since then, he appears only to have grown stronger. A maiden world title followed last autumn, and there has been no sign of a rainbow jersey curse. Quite the opposite, in fact. In 22 race days this year, Pogačar has managed 11 victories – that’s a staggering hit rate of 50%.

Still, Superman has his kryptonite. Although Pogačar is one of the best time triallists in the world, he’s not as quick against the clock as his GC rivals Vingegaard and Evenepoel, the world and Olympic champion. Expect to see him lose time on stage five’s test around Caen, and then there's the small matter of stage 13's uphill TT, terrain where Vingegaard has stolen a march before.

Pogačar heads into this year’s Tour with one goal in his sights: a fourth yellow jersey. He’ll also be thinking about another career milestone as he approaches his 100th win – he’s currently on 99. No other active male pro has collected as many, a simple fact that stands as proof of the other-worldliness of cycling’s number one.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)

Given how prolific Pogačar was last year, and has been this year, it's easy to forget that not so long ago – 2022, ’23 – Vingegaard was the victor and the Slovenian the vanquished.

This season the tendency has been to assume that the new status quo will prevail – and a Pogačar cakewalk will ensue at the Tour. But don't forget that three months before last year's race, Vingegaard was literally in pieces, having sustained multiple fractures and a punctured lung in an awful crash at Itzulia Basque Country. And yet, somehow, he returned to win a stage and finish second on GC at the Tour. This year has been far smoother, although he did abandon Paris-Nice after crashing on stage five, breaking his wrist and sustaining a concussion.

The recent Dauphiné was his first race back, and he was found wanting in the face of Pogačar's romp to GC victory – most pointedly on stage six to Combloux, where the Slovenian took revenge for his 2023 loss to Vingegaard in the Tour de France mountain time trial, turning the tables to put just over a minute into the Dane.

In theory, the Dane will take the start line in Lille with his form honed to a fine blade, and Pogačar should take nothing for granted.

In terms of finding form, there is a lot of time between the Dauphiné and the Tour – and even more before Pogačar and Vingegaard are likely to tussle for the first time, on the 33km stage five time trial around Caen. There's all to play for.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)

Never mind the thought of racing Pogačar and Vingegaard this summer, the biggest barrier Remco Evenepoel is likely to face is the extensive pressure piled upon his shoulders from the media at home. Ever since he burst onto the pro scene, Evenepoel has faced lofty comparisons with Eddy Merckx, and other iconic racers of old, something which could derail those lacking the same confidence that he has.

Evenepoel comes into the Tour in top form, a remarkable feat considering he was left with nerve damage in his shoulder after being knocked from his bike by a post van before Christmas. He required surgery to repair multiple fractures, including a broken shoulder, hand and ribs, and told the media before his comeback race - Brabantse Pijl, which he won - that he had contemplated retirement, such was the extent of the damage.

“If I were a tennis player, or a volleyball player, then my career would have been over. So luckily, I'm a cyclist,” he said. "The injuries were quite severe with my shoulder where all the muscles and all the ligaments were destroyed. The surgery was a heavy one as well, and then you had the extra nerve problem, which completely stopped my shoulder from functioning, that was pretty hard to accept. It was just a difficult period.”

Despite the later start, Evenepoel’s form book this season carries victory in a major classic, third at Amstel Gold, and two top ten finishes in two major WorldTour stage races. His rivals will fear his time trial prowess and will know that they will need to be at their very best to distance him significantly in the high mountains. Evenepoel is very much a man to fear at this year’s Tour de France.

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

Never mind his UAE team leader Pogačar, João Almeida is currently the most in form stage racer in the WorldTour, having won Itzulia Basque Country, the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse . Despite the Portuguese rider’s fine form, he will switch to a mountain domestique role this July in support of Pogačar. But Almeida is the ideal man to step up and lead the team should anything happen to the Slovenian out on the road.

Almeida is one of several elite domestiques who will be gunning for their own top ten finish in Paris, which he achieved last year, with fourth.

Almeida could even contest the final place on the podium. Three stage wins at the Tour de Suisse, along with the overall victory, suggest the form is there and firmly rubber stamps Almeida as a man to watch out for this July.

Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

Despite being a five-time Grand Tour winner (4x Vuelta a España, 1x Giro d’Italia), Primož Roglič goes into the Tour as someone aiming for the podium, rather than the top step.

Red Bull made clear when Roglič was signed that his presence on the team had forced the German squad to completely recalibrate its goals at the French Grand Tour, the biggest race of the year, but the 35-year-old Slovenian now seems further away from the level of his compatriot Pogačar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel. A fact that underscores the vast chasm that’s opened up between him and the three best male riders in the world is his last four Tour results: DNF, DNF, DNF, and fourth overall.

Roglič should never be written off completely. When on form, and when he avoids crashes or accidents, the Slovenian is still one of the best pound for pound GC racers in the peloton, with his palmares attesting to that. If Roglič can finally get a bit of luck and a bit of consistency again then he should challenge for a top five finish in Paris this time round.

Should Roglič fall short, Red Bull will be able to call upon their up and coming German GC rider, Florian Lipowitz. The 21-year-old has been hugely impressive in 2025, finishing third overall at the Dauphiné last month.

Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike)

Simon Yates is riding the crest of a wave right now, with victory at the Giro d’Italia in May one of the pinnacles of his career to date. The 32-year-old led Visma-Lease a Bike at the Italian Grand Tour but he will now have to adapt to a new support role to Jonas Vingegaard .

Yates will be one of three mountain domestiques for Visma, with American duo Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson also expected to get around Vingegaard at high altitude. Similarly to Almeida and his brother, Adam, at UAE, Yates’ new role won’t mean he doesn’t get the opportunity to aim high himself.

Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla)

O’Connor has a history of cannily slipping into breakaways and gaining huge chunks of time, as at last year’s Vuelta a España where, after doing so in the first week, he wore the red jersey for 13 days and ultimately finished second overall. Rivals competing with him for a podium spot can ill-afford to let him get away with a similar ploy once again.

The Australian has enjoyed a solid start to life at his new team, Jayco AlUla, recording a seventh place finish at the Tour de Suisse, with three top ten stage finishes as he built form for the Tour. As well as a runner up spot at the Vuelta last year, the 29-year-old also took second behind Pogačar in the World Championships road race in Zurich, capping a solid year in which he also finished fourth at the Giro d'Italia.

If he is to finish on the podium, O’Connor’s best bet will be to play the long game, ride his own tempo in the mountains, and sneak away in a breakaway if he can.

Best of the rest

The French have been waiting more than anyone for a Tour winner with Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) the latest in a long line of hopefuls for the home nation. The pint-sized climber from Cannes possesses a fine turn of speed uphill, and a results sheet that includes stage wins at Paris-Nice, the Tour de Romandie and the Critérium du Dauphiné this year.

His teammate Santiago Buitrago has also made no secret of the fact he’s aiming for the top end of the top ten, and is another who could spring a surprise. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) proved last year that he’s capable of riding well for himself while supporting his team leader. The two-time Paris-Nice winner finished eighth last year and will be looking to improve on that this time out. Enric Mas (Movistar) is one of the most consistent leaders in the GC field and will return to the Tour looking to match his top-six finishes of the past. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) is another rider who is perhaps not the flashiest of names amongst the favourites but his recent showing at the Tour de Suisse (fourth overall) suggests he’s building nicely for the Tour.

Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) will be aiming for the top 10, but his form this year has been characterised by steady but unspectacular finishes towards the lower ranks of the top ten in stage races, suggesting that he won’t make the leap this year. Lidl-Trek's Mattias Skjelmose finished fourth at the Vuelta last year and will be hoping to trouble the top 10 in France, with his team's backing.

Another rider who came out of the Tour de Suisse well is Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL), who finished third overall, his best WorldTour stage race finish to date. The Scottish rider also took a stage win and will be targeting more of the same across the next three weeks. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has finished third before, although he has not raced since the Giro and appears to be slightly off form, finishing 12th in Italy, although that was in the service of Isaac del Toro.

Primož Roglič has abandoned the Giro d'Italia after a crash in wet conditions on stage 16.

The incident, which was not captured by the television cameras, happened just inside 100km to go on Tuesday's stage, and came on a downhill section. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) was also involved.

Both riders remounted their bikes initially; however, Roglič stopped and retired to his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team car moments later.

Roglič, who won the Italian Grand Tour in 2023, wore the pink jersey on two days in this year's edition. He entered Tuesday's stage 10th in the general classification, after losing a minute and a half to his rivals on stage 15.

The 35-year-old had already crashed multiple times during the opening two weeks; once during his time trial recon on stage 10, and again in a pile-up on stage 14.

"I just collected too much impact in all these crashes," Roglič said in a video released by his team. "The only thing was I had to stop at the end. I still try to think about the future and the next things."

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's stage, the Slovenian said he was "fighting for survival" in this year's race.

"I don't think it's really realistic anymore to do the GC," he said. "Today I still came to the start. I couldn't even ride the bike yesterday [on the rest day], so I'm just [going to] see if I can ride the bike today."

Roglič was one of a number of victims in Tuesday's attritional weather. Earlier in the stage, Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) abandoned the race after he slid out on a roundabout and struck a metal barrier.

Likewise, VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè rider Alessio Martinelli crashed into a ravine and left the race in an ambulance. The Italian's team later issued a statement to say he was conscious, stable, and being transported to hospital.

In a statement issued by Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe, Roglič's team said: "The Giro ends early for Roglič, who abandons on Stage 16. Thank you for the fight, Primož, and you'll be back stronger."

The Slovenian is due to ride the Tour de France in July.

Primož Roglič was a man of few words at the finish line of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday. Chased by the TNT Sports camera crew, he offered back only a six-word remark: “I’m just happy that I finished.”

It had been, after 219km, a forgettable day for the Slovenian. Shepherded by his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammates, he crossed the line in Asiago a minute and a half behind his fellow general classification rivals, the only pink jersey hopeful to suffer a time loss.

Roglič began stage 15 in fifth; he ended it in 10th, almost four minutes adrift of the race leader, Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and with an even bigger mountain to climb in the race’s final week.

Running alongside the 35-year-old as he rolled back to his team bus, the TNT reporter posed a forward-looking question: “You still have hope to try something?” A handful of silent seconds followed, before the response came. Roglič was relieved the stage was over, he made clear. He would offer no explanation or excuse for the time loss.

The GC attacks began with around 100km to go on the race's second longest day. Egan Bernal, set-up by his Ineos Grenadiers teammates, was the first to launch a probing move, but was unable to unsettle Del Toro in pink. Roglič rode his own rhythm behind.

With 30km to go, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) took his chance to test the pack. Again, Del Toro was unshakeable, but Roglič couldn’t hold the pace. Perhaps sensing weakness, the GC group kept the pressure on all the way to the finish, and the gap to the Slovenian widened, growing from 30 seconds, to a minute, and eventually 1:30.

Was it illness that had befallen Roglič? Had he been hurt in the crash on stage 14? Perhaps his level was just a step below his rivals'?

A five-time Grand Tour winner, Roglič’s chances of winning a second Giro now appear slashed. But according to Israel Premier Tech’s Derek Gee, they haven’t been levelled completely. “A guy like Roglič, you can’t count him out, especially with a third week like that,” the Canadian said.

The high mountains are calling, a terrain where the Slovenian tends to thrive. First, though, a rest day, and a chance to re-assess the fight for the pink jersey.

That battle is currently being won by 21-year-old Mexican Del Toro, a Giro debutant. “It’s incredible. It’s really an amazing dream. I’m here fighting every day," he said on Sunday, rounding out a week in the race lead.

"Having confidence about the things that I want to do in these days is so hard, but with this team, I think everything is possible," Del Toro added.

It's the same faith that Roglič will need if he's to climb back up into contention. The Slovenian is down, but he's not out yet.

With the second rest day out of the way at the Giro d’Italia, the riders looking to challenge for the overall title immediately face a major challenge in the form of the 28.6 kilometre individual time trial between Lucca and Pisa.

Isaac del Toro carried the race leader’s pink jersey, the maglia rosa, into the rest day after claiming it in impressive style on the gravel stage to Siena, which was won by Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike). 21-year-old Del Toro will be the last man down the start ramp at 16:40 local time in Lucca (15:40 BST), with more than a minute over his teammate, Juan Ayuso, in second place in the overall standings.

The first rider down the start time will be Alexander Krieger of Tudor Pro Cycling at 13:20 CEST (12:20 BST), although the first riders to watch won't be on television until 1pm BST onwards.

The two main favourites for the stage are Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) and Van Aert himself. Tarling won the stage two time trial in Tirana and will be the man to beat this time out.

The first major contender to race will be Primož Roglič at 16:13 (15:13 BST). The Slovenian lost a chunk of time on the gravel stage on Sunday but will be hoping to immediately claim some of that back. Adam Yates (UAE Emirates-XRG) will start three minutes after Roglič before Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) gets his time trial underway at 16:22 (15:22 BST).

Climbers like Bernal and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) are not renowned time trial experts and will be riding purely with the aim of conserving as much time as possible before the high mountains arrive, but could surprise us all.

Pre-race favourite Ayuso (UAE Emirates-XRG) will start at 16:37 (15:37 BST) before Del Toro gets started at 16:40 (15:40 BST). You can see all the key times to make a note of below. Remember to factor in the hour ahead time difference to Italy if you’re tuning into live coverage from the UK this afternoon. Remember to check out our how to watch the Giro d'Italia guide.

The start of the Giro d’Italia is just five weeks away, but it already looks set to become a two-way scrap between Primož Roglič and Juan Ayuso, a clash of two of the sport’s biggest teams, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Tadej Pogačar’s absence from the startlist has opened the door to a range of different riders looking to contest the race. However, Roglič and Ayuso are already pulling away from the competition after both making an exceptional start to the year.

The latter may have started his season later than the Slovenian, although he has already got 17 race days in the legs compared to Roglič’s 12 days of competition, picking up victories in both the Faun Drome Classic and Trofeo Laigueglia before sealing the overall win at Tirreno-Adriatico.

On paper, his start to the new campaign is impressive, particularly as that was then followed up with a second overall finish, victory in the youth classification and an individual stage win at the Volta a Catalunya. But Roglič, who is 13 years his senior, seemingly holds the upper hand and will have the cutting edge once the race gets underway as he goes in search of a second Giro title.

While he will have been undoubtedly disappointed with his low key start in Portugal, Roglič’s form coming out of Catalunya appears to be razor sharp and was underscored by his dominant performance on the final stage into Barcelona which he won convincingly to seal his overall triumph.

It is worth mentioning that Roglič emphatically winning week long stage races is nothing new - he has won 12 since beginning his career almost ten years ago - but his performance in Catalunya was a statement of intent and proof that despite being 35 he still has what it takes to dominate and perform at the highest level for a while longer yet.

It would have been easy to speculate and cast doubt on his ambitions for the Giro after he was bested by Ayuso on stage three at La Molina. The Slovenian simply never loses an uphill sprint, so much so that his trademark race-winning attack gained a name - Roglification. Many of the best GC riders currently competing on the men’s WorldTour have fallen afoul of such a move, although Ayuso took on the master at his own game in Catalunya.

Roglič’s final day showing blended tactical nous, outright force and clever race craft as he attacked from range to seal the win after hoovering up some of the mid-race bonus seconds on offer. "I had to do something. I always say that Catalunya is an honest race where the legs are talking. But I really didn't have a great feeling until the last stage," Roglič said afterwards before going on to warn that he felt the result "doesn't really influence the outcome of the Giro".

That may be so, but try telling that to the likes of Egan Bernal, Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz, three riders who will all be hoping to compete in Italy but who all finished more than a minute down on yours truly.

Anything can happen in the Corsa Rosa and the race can suddenly turn on its head - as proved by Chris Froome in 2018 - but recent showings have proved that Yates, Carapaz, Bernal, and the best of the rest are going to have their work cut out to get on the podium, let alone the top step which seems to be reserved for the two main protagonists in Spain.

Make no mistake, Roglič has the experience that age provides on his side, but Ayuso possesses the innocence of youth and, similarly to his famous UAE teammate, a burning desire to make a permanent mark on cycling by securing his first-ever Grand Tour victory.

The answer then, to "can anyone stop Primož Roglič or Juan Ayuso from winning the Giro d’Italia?", seems simple right now - probably not.

Paris-Nice, the first big French race of the year, gets the most headlines; Tirreno-Adriatico tries to fight for attention in the same week; and the Itzulia Basque Country boasts the relentless leg-sapping climbs that leaves the final result up in the air until the final kilometres. Although Jonas Vingegaard has been forced to pull out, killing the planned showdown between him and Primož Roglič, for me, there’s only the spring stage race that comes out on top in the battle of which is best: the Volta a Catalunya. Let me explain why.

While it’s true that every stage race attempts to encompass the best of a Grand Tour in a shorter time frame, with time trials, sprint stages, days for the rouleurs and breakaway riders, and GC-altering days all spread out between six (Itzulia and Tour de Romandie) and eight (Tour de Suisse) stages, Catalunya is the first of the Big-7 stage races to venture high into the proper mountains, with the peloton ascending to more than 2,000m in most of the past editions. For the first time in the season, altitude – often so decisive in the three Grand Tours – comes into play.

While Paris-Nice is characterised by gloomy weather as the riders eventually race to the sun over what feels like an eternity, and Tirreno-Adriatico so often single-handedly keeps drought at bay in central Italy with one week of torrential rain (and occasionally snow), Catalunya is typically sunnier, warmer and drier. And even though a soaked Spain has seen less sun than anywhere else in Europe this March, by the grace of the Catalan patron Sant Jordi, that all changes next week – blue sky bike racing is back.

What that invariably means is fans. Lots of them. You have spectators at the other spring stage races – none more so than the thousands of orange-clad, Txapela-wearing Basques at Itzulia – but this is the first time in the season fans book the day off the work, squeeze a big baguette into their jersey pocket, and ride up a climb in advance of the superstars. Sidelined by big crowds, it’s the first glimpse of summer racing, a foreshadow of brighter and longer days.

This year, we’ve got Roglič, Tirreno winner Juan Ayuso, and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Adam Yates as the big three favourites. The latter’s twin, Simon, will lead his new team Visma-Lease a Bike, Ben O'Connor heads up Jayco-AlUla, and honourable mentions must go to the South Americans stars: Richard Carapaz and Egan Bernal.

Roglič won the 2023 race by six seconds after an epic yo-yo battle with Remco Evenepoel that saw the Belgian crown himself the joint-winner in the aftermath. It was less predictable last year, Tadej Pogacar winning four stages and by almost four minutes, but his imperious form was the first indicator of the Triple Crown that he’d go on to achieve in 2024.

The 2025 route begins as it has done since 2022 in Sant Feliu de Guíxols with a rolling stage that might but might not end in a sprint. The fast fastmen don’t come to Catalunya – it’s just too hilly and taxing for them – but new sprinters do come to the fore, Kaden Groves and Ethan Vernon in recent years.

From there it’s into the beautiful Pyrenees, a stage finish at the ski station of La Molina after crossing over the 1,913m Coll de la Creueta, and then a spectacular climb to the equally as spectacular and cartoon-looking surroundings of Montserrat. Home to a 11th century monastery, it’s like a bunch of hoodoos were dropped and stuck with not quite enough glue on top of a giant boulder that rolled from the Pyrenees to within sight of Barcelona.

Before the riders get to the Catalan capital, there’s another undulating stage that could go the way of just about anyone, before a final mountain stage up to the steep Santuari de Queralt, which last year was overtaken by the Spanish arm of Sepp Kuss’s ever-growing fan club. It’s as noisy and as colourful as the three-week races later in the year.

To top the week off on the day when the clocks spring forward (perfectly aligning with the summer-is-coming messaging), the punchy circuit around Montjuïc in Barcelona never fails to throw up thrilling final-day racing. Every year the stage’s result is an enigma, a mystery until the finale, and so riveting is it that the Tour de France has decided it too wants a bit of its unpredictability, and so will finish stage two of the 2026 race with a carbon copy of the Volta’s Montjuïc loop.

Cycling fans don’t really need an excuse to tune into WorldTour bike racing, but if it’s uninterrupted drama and enthralling subplots with more than a smattering of summer bike racing about it that you’re after, none of the spring races come as close as the Volta a Catalunya.

Pre-Vuelta a España favourite Primož Roglic slashed nearly two minutes off race leader Ben O’Connor’s margin on the summit finish of Puerto de Ancares.

The Slovenian attacked almost as soon as the double digit gradients of the final first category climb hit, swiftly distancing O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), who had started the day with a lead of 3.16.

GC contenders were spread all over the mountainside as the Australian battled to keep himself in the red jersey eventually shipping nearly two minutes to leave his lead over the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider at 1.21.

No one in the peloton had any hope of a stage win though as the break had been given a lead that ballooned up to 16 minutes. Out front, Canadian Michael Woods played his card cannily to take his first stage win at this year’s Vuelta a España.

The Israel-Premier Tech rider played it cool in the big breakaway of 23 riders watching at Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) shot off the front on every climb to claim the king of the mountains points.

He made his move with just over five kilometres to race on the double-digit gradients of the final climb.

Initially, Mauro Schmidt (Jayco-Alula) was able to go with him but the Swiss was soon distanced as the Canadian soloed to the line to claim his third career stage win at the Spanish grand tour.

Woods joins a list of stage winners that includes Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodríguez, who won atop the 1,657m climb in 2014 and 2012 Vueltas a España respectively.

How it happened

The day’s breakaway of 23 riders built up a gap of over 12 minutes after 100km of racing.

Among those in the front group was Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who started the day level with Adam Yates (UAE-Emirates) at the top of the king of the mountains competition.

Yates wasn’t present in the break, and despite the efforts of his team-mates Marc Soler and Jay Vine, van Aert was able to hoover up the maximum points on the race’s early climbs taking his KOM lead out to seven points over Yates.

The first 100km were covered at an average of 44kph, significantly faster than the race organiser’s fastest predicted speed of 42kph. Deacthlon-AG2R La Mondiale did much of the pace setting in the peloton throughout the day, as is custom for the race leader’s team on a day like today.

Out front Van Aert picked-up the maximum points at the day’s intermediate sprint to lengthen his more than 80 point lead over Kaden Groves (Alpecin Deceuninck) in the green jersey competition.

The break began to fragment, mostly under the pressure of van Aert’s near ceaseless attack, as the race came into its hilly conclusion. On the day’s penultimate climb of Puerto du Lumeras the UAE-Emirates trio of Marc Soler, Jay Vine and Brandon McNulty attempted to get one of them away but they were shut down.

In the end the Belgian was the first of the front runners to crest the second category climb to give himself a 13 point lead over Yates.

There was drama on the descent as McNulty slid off the road, going under the Armco, on the descent causing his team-mate Vine to also crash. McNulty was bloodied but able to climb back up the bank to the road before remounting to ride to the finish.

That left a group of five made up of van Aert, Soler, Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), Sam Oomen (Lidle-Trek) and Mauro Schmidt (Jayco-Alula) coming into the final climb of Puerto de Ancares together to contest the stage win.

As the gradient kicked up into the double digits with 5km left to race on the final climb Schmidt and Woods pushed clear. Of their breakaway companions. Woods soon dropped Schmidt to push on alone, his gap steadily extending.

Behind those contesting the stage, Movistar set the pace in the peloton, clearly trying to set up an assault on the GC by Enric Mas, who started the day third in the overall competition.

Mas was able to follow when Roglič attacked initially but as the climb ground on he was distanced with two kilometres to go.

 With four of the final five kilometres possessing gradients in the double digits the final first category climb of Puerto de Ancares was never well suited to O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale).

O’Connor, paced initially be a team-mate, was fighting hard to limit his losses not just to Roglič but to other GC rivals including Ricahrd Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Mas, Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step).

As Roglič crossed the finish line O’Connor still had 500m left to ride. He crossed the line 1.54 behind his biggest rival.

Results Vuelta a España 2024 stage 13: Lugo > Puerto de Ancares (176km)

1. Michael Woods (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, in 4:19:51
2. Mauro Schmidt (Sui) Jayco AlUla, +45s
3. Marc Soler (Esp) UAE Emirates, +1:11
4. Sam Oomen (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +1:25
5. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:56
6. Gijs Leemreise (Ned) dsm-Firmenich Post NL, +3:33
7. Jose Feliz Parra (esp) Euipo Ken Pharma, +5:19
8. Mikel Bizkarra (Esp) Euskatel-Euskadi, +5:38
9. Luca Vergallito (Ita) Alpecin Deceuninck, +5:59
10. Mathis le Berre (Fra) Arkea-B&B hotels, +6:15

General classification after stage 13

1. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, in 51:10:15
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:21
3. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, +3:01
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +3:13
5. Mikel Landa (Esp) Soudal Quick-Step, +3:20
6. Carlos Rodríguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers, +4:12
7. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:29
8. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +4:42
9. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +4:44
10. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, +5:17

Primož Roglič might still win the Vuelta a España. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider is very much still in the picture, and the best placed rider to step into the race lead should Ben O’Connor of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale fall off. This may be true, but Roglič has made his life harder than necessary, and there are just 12 stages left.

After stage four of this year’s race, the Slovenian was in control. A stage win saw him grab hold of the Grand Tour, a race he has won three times before. At that point, it felt like it could be game over already. Sure, there were basically two weeks of racing to go, but once Roglič takes the lead in the Vuelta, he wins it, right? Well, no.

Two days later, Red Bull decided the best thing for the team, and for Roglič, was to lose the red jersey, so they could claim it back later in the race. It would mean less faff after every stage, less time on the podium, less obligation to the media, and also less work in the race. Put like that, the logic seems to make sense.

What doesn’t make sense is gifting the race lead - in this theory, lending it - to someone who is an overall threat, which is what happened as Ben O'Connor claimed over six minutes back on stage six. Sure, O’Connor is yet to finish on a Grand Tour podium and went into stage six in 23rd place overall, but he is also a proven GC rider. This isn’t lending it to Rein Taaramaë or Odd Christian Eiking, as happened in 2021, when Roglič gave up the lead twice but still came back to win.

The whole thing is a gamble, but it seems like an unnecessary gamble, one which might ruin the whole race for Red Bull and Roglič. If it was someone who was less of a threat, perhaps there wouldn’t be as much criticism of the German team’s tactics, but that is not where we are. Where we are now is considering why it would ever be wise to give up the lead in a race, in the process assuming you will be able to get it back at some point. Assuming, of course, is the downfall of many.

“Things didn’t play out as we wanted,” Red Bull sports director Patxi Vila told Cyclingnews, in the understatement of the season. “The start was really fast-moving and the break of the day was a really strong one. Lipo [Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull] was in there, and we thought he would have no problem staying with Ben and we’d get another option on GC.”

O’Connor ended up taking 6:31 on Roglič, a situation which could have been avoided, but also was a great ride from the Australian. That should not be missed in all this. It’s one thing to see an opportunity, but another to grasp it with both hands.

This Vuelta has been chaos. The Vuelta is often chaotic, with riders at differing levels of form and fatigue coming into it - some rode the Tour de France, others are at their first Grand Tour of the season - and with odd team lineups. The amount of climbing in this year’s race has meant team’s going climber-heavy in their squads, but also teams just don’t have the power to control a race. It means things like O’Connor’s long-range move, but also others repeating the feat, as Adam Yates of UAE Team Emirates did on Sunday. If a rider is strong enough, they really can ride away, something we don’t often see from someone not called Tadej Pogačar.

Yates moved up 20 places in a single stage, aping O’Connor’s climb up the leaderboard a few days previously, proving the race is not dead yet. However, O’Connor is still hanging on, so there is no guarantee anyone will fade. It is entertaining, something the Vuelta needs to be to attract attention at this point in the season. It’s entertaining, but incredibly hard to predict - which makes Roglič’s decision to give up red all the more interesting. If I can’t predict it, Red Bull definitely can’t either. Maybe O’Connor will win. Maybe it will be Roglič, maybe Yates. Or it could be someone I haven’t even named here. It’s all to play for, and it’s fun.

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.

Primož Roglič says he is still feeling pain relating to back injuries suffered in a crash at the Tour de France as he gets set to begin the Vuelta a España on Saturday. 

Roglič went into the Tour in July with the aim of overall victory or a place on the podium, but saw that ambition go up in smoke after he fractured his back in a crash on stage 12 of the race and was forced to abandon. 

Speaking ahead of the Vuelta getting underway in Lisbon on Saturday, the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider, who has won the race three times, said it was difficult to clearly outline his targets for the race due to his form and fitness still being in doubt. 

"I mean definitely I still feel it, especially with my back," he told reporters. "It will still be some time, probably that I won't feel it… The fact is that every week it is a bit better. But these things are never just good over a night or over one to three weeks. 

"It really takes time that you don't really feel it. I was definitely good enough to do my rides [in training] because that's why I also come here. If I cannot ride then for sure, I won't come. But still with the racing, I didn't do any racing ever since so we have to see day by day with those changes of rhythms and just see how it will go, how the pain will be. 

"But I'm optimistic, and for sure as every day passes, it will be better."

"I mean it was for sure really hard," he added as he reflected on his recovery. "You put so much work into it. At the end it's not only me, it's my wife, the whole family actually, sacrificing all the time to make me able to do what I do. But in life you always have challenges and things to overcome, things to fight and yes, I was happy that I could get the support so I could somehow refocus and try to prepare myself for this Vuelta."

Despite going into the Vuelta with no racing minutes in his legs since the crash at the Tour, the Slovenian is still being widely considered as a potential podium finisher in Madrid in three weeks time, being a former winner.

Roglič will face last year’s winner, Visma-Lease a Bike’s Sepp Kuss, in the battle for the overall win, and joked that after many years of racing together as teammates, he very nearly endured an embarrassing mishap at the race’s team presentation. 

"It's a bit strange [racing against Kuss] I mean yesterday I almost joined them [Visma-Lease a Bike] on the presentation going onto the podium," the three-time former Vuelta winner said. "It feels strange, definitely. I mean, being together for so many years racing together. 

"But on the other hand, when we go out there, we will try to achieve the best results. And it will definitely be a nice challenge to race against each other."

Primož Roglič has said that he suffered a lower back fracture in the crash that forced him out of the Tour de France. 

Roglič revealed the extent of his injuries in an Instagram post on Tuesday evening and explained that he had been undergoing rehab at the Red Bull performance centre in Austria. 

"Life is not the easiest sometimes," he wrote. "Further examinations after the [Tour de France] crash showed a nondisplaced lwk3 fracture of processus transversus in the lower back so last week I was recovering at Red Bull Athlete Performance Center, where they were taking the best care of me...

"I’m slowly getting back on the bike and taking my time to recover and will see where this takes us… In this time I realised, once again, that I have the best fans In the world. Thank you."

The Slovenian was expected to start the Vuelta a España on August 17, but the extent of his injuries will put his participation in doubt. 

Roglič crashed on stage 12 of the Tour on the road to Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Despite the efforts of his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team-mates, he was unable to rejoin the peloton and lost time. He later abandoned the race after being examined by team doctors. 

At the time he pulled out, Roglič was fourth in the general classification, 2:15 down on eventual Tour winner Tadej Pogačar. It had been hoped that he would challenge for overall victory in France. 

The Slovenian is a three-time former winner of the Vuelta a España, and reports had suggested that he would take to the start line once more in August. However, Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe boss Ralph Denk recently said on the Inside Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe podcast that nothing had been confirmed yet. 

Cycling Weekly contacted the team on Wednesday to ask about Roglič’s plans for the rest of the season but did not hear back at the time of publication. 

"Primož is currently only training a bit on the indoor trainer, I don't think it's clear yet whether he will participate in the Vuelta," Denk said on the podcast. 

The Vuelta will start in Lisbon, Portugal on 17 August before concluding in Madrid on 8 September. 

Boom, splat, whatever onomatopoeic sound takes your fancy, it’s happened again. Primož Roglič’s Tour de France hopes appear to have ended how he least wanted, but how it always seems to: with a crash. 

Stage 12 of the 2024 Tour was another snooze-fest, despite the lumpy parcours, following the trend of this edition of good days being really good and bad days being really bad. With the breakaway of four caught – at least there was a break today – a small traffic island 10km from the finish in Villenueve-sur-Lot saw the peloton split in two, half going left, half going right. It was unremarkable in how common an exercise this was for professional bike riders.

But this time, disaster was to strike. An Astana-Qazaqstan rider collided with the raised pavement in the centre of the road, but most riders, almost everyone, avoided the domino crash.  But not Roglič. Of course not Roglič.

In 2021, a year on from having yellow ripped from his shoulders by his compatriot Pogačar on the penultimate day time trial, Roglič crashed with 10km to go in an opening week stage and was shortly out of the race; in 2022, ditto, registering a DNF by stage 15; 2023 he was left at home; and now this, 2024, with a new team, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, fully dedicated to him, and two crashes in two days.

On stage 11 – yes, yesterday – he fell in the final two kilometres but remounted, and 24 hours on he was tumbling to the ground once more. He finished 2:27 behind stage winner Biniam Girmay of Intermarché-Wanty and, more crucially, his GC rivals, slipping from fourth to sixth on GC. He’s now 4:42 off Pogačar, his hopes as good as extinguished. Yellow, so coveted and desired, is stubbornly elusive, perhaps forever. 

“Well, it’s terrible obviously, a leader crashing and after yesterday also,” his team DS Rolf Aldag said, the veteran sports director controlling spokesperson duties while Roglič was attended to by his medical team. “He came to the finish line but he lost some time. That was not good, certainly we wanted to avoid that. It’s never good, it’s never nice and it certainly wasn’t the plan.”

The Curse of Roglič is something his new employers are becoming well acquainted to, only seven months into their relationship. He was concerningly off the pace at March’s Paris-Nice, crashed in that crash at April’s Itzulia Basque Country, and has lagged in the Tour’s first half, despite winning June’s Critérium du Dauphiné.

At Visma-Lease a Bike, the team who refer to him as ‘The King’ after he delivered 74 wins over eight seasons, they were empathetic for their former teammate, even if his fall gives Jonas Vingegaard a more comfortable cushion in the fight for a Tour podium, and also reduces the battle for yellow to three. “I feel really sorry for him – he’s had so much bad luck like this already before,” Wout van Aert said. “A GC shouldn’t be decided on a stage like this.” Frans Maassen, so often the DS in the car accompanying Roglič, sighed: “It’s really shit for Primož. We want him to have some good luck.”

Pogačar, nine years his countryman’s junior, was just as sympathetic. “It was a big shock. Shit news, bad news, and I’m really disappointed and sad for him. He was looking better every day in this Tour, and was coming strongly into this second week. I wish him the best, I hope he didn’t injure himself. Everyone knows he’s a big fighter.”

The apparent voodoo afflicting Roglič needs to be put into context: he’s won the Vuelta a España three times, been victorious in the Giro d’Italia, and has won a combined 19 stages in the three Grand Tours – almost an entire three-week race. But the Tour continues to resist him, obdurately pushing back against his advances, slamming its figurative doors in his face each and every time he seeks out its top step. It’s not even a love-hate relationship anymore, but an association where there’s one only willing party – and that party is approaching 35 years of age; only one rider, Firmin Lambot in 1922, has won the race within five years of his 40th birthday. And he wasn’t competing against generational talents like Roglič is.

It’s not known how serious Roglič’s latest injuries are – Aldag, ever the compassionate one, stressed that the importance was Roglič’s health and not whether or not he will continue in the race – but he does not need an x-ray scan to diagnose the prognostic of his maillot jaune chances: they’re over, barring a Roglič redemption and a Pogačar collapse that would eclipse Planche des Belles Filles of 2020. “We will have different thoughts on fighting for the podium depending on how he is and if he can continue or not,” Aldag said. “We will have to listen to our medical team and what they think and can do. We will see what tomorrow brings.”

Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe's Primož Roglič is currently one of the biggest names in the men's WorldTour peloton, and has 22 stage victories across all three Grand Tours to his name.

The Slovenian has won the Vuelta a España on four occasions, and has won a plethora of stage races across his hugely successful career, including at Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya.

In 2023, he claimed his second Grand Tour, adding the Giro d'Italia to his palmarès with a dramatic victory in the penultimate day time trial.

He moved to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe at the beginning of 2024, as the team's marquee rider. In 2026 he is targeting a fifth Vuelta crown.

1. He attended an economics school in Kranj, Slovenia before attending the faculty of Organisational Sciences. Although Roglič never finished his diploma.

2. Did you know that before beginning his cycling career, Roglič was a professional ski jumper? Of course you did! But did you know he was Junior World Team event champion in 2007?

3. OK, so you maybe also knew that last one but what about this? The Slovenian also has two continental cup wins, the second highest level of international ski jumping, and his best ever distance was 185 metres at a competition in Planica, Slovenia.

4. Roglič suffered a nasty crash while ski jumping in 2007, and would retire from the sport four years later for good.

5. He has previously been skiing at Monte Lussari, the site of the mountain time trial in the third week of the 2023 Giro.

6. Roglič was fairly late to professional cycling, only turning pro with Adria Mobil in 2013 aged 23.

7. His first professional win as a cyclist came in 2014 at the Tour d'Azerbaïdjan.

8. One of his first coaches was former Slovenian professional rider Andrej Hauptman.

9. In 2017, Roglič became the first ever Slovenian to win a stage of the Tour de France.

10. He then set another record two years later, becoming the first Slovenian to win one of cycling's Grand Tour's when he took his first Vuelta a España victory.

11. He was also the first Slovenian to wear the yellow jersey of the race leader at the Tour, finishing second to compatriot Tadej Pogačar.

12. In recent years, the Slovenian has been seen on podiums across the sport demonstrating his now famous Telemark celebration. It pays homage to his ski jumping days, and is when ski jumpers land with one foot in front of the other with knees slightly bent, mimicking the style of Telemark skiing from Norway.

13. In 2016, the Jumbo-Visma rider won stage nine of the Giro d'Italia, an individual time trial, on his spare bike. His main time trial bike at the time failed to meet UCI requirements.

14. On that same Giro stage nine, he was forced to rely on instinct after not managing to quickly attach his bike computer to his spare bike for the stage.

15. The Slovenian has his own charitable foundation, the Primož Roglič Foundation, which has been involved in a variety of cycling related projects.

16. The foundation provided urgent assistance to young Ukrainian cyclists forced to flee their home country due to the Russian invasion.

17. Roglič has become infamous for stealing wins from under the noses of other riders, right at the final moment on the finish line. The move has become known as "Roglification".

18. Roglič and his wife welcomed a second child, Aleks, to the family in January 2023. The couple already has one son, Lev Roglič.

19. While he has won five Grand Tours - of the 16 he has started - he has also failed to finish five too, including the most recent Giro d'Italia.

20. The Slovenian is a basketball fan, and follows the Chicago Bulls.

21. After suffering a major crash at the 2022 Vuelta, Roglič publicly blamed Fred Wright for the incident.

Every year the Critérium du Dauphiné is used as a form-checker, and in some cases a form-finder, ahead of the biggest race in the cycling calendar, the Tour de France. 

This year two of the Tour’s ‘big four’ arrived at the race in unknown condition having both fallen victim to the same crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April, a crash which also took down two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). 

The Dane, still recovering from his injuries, was not deemed fit enough by his team to take part in the Dauphiné this week and his Tour participation remains in doubt. Meanwhile, Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick-Step) have both had the opportunity to test their shape during the race often referred to as the ‘mini Tour de France’.

The signs looked good for Evenepoel during stage four’s 34 kilometre time trial as he took victory over Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) by 17 seconds and put 39 seconds into Roglič. However, as the race has headed into the mountains the tide has turned, Roglič looking every bit like a Tour de France favourite, while Evenepoel seems to have work to do.

“The shape is just not there,” Evenepoel said to reporters after finishing 13th on the Dauphiné’s queen stage, 1:46 down on stage winner Roglič.

Evenepoel had explained at the start of the week that he had no ambitions for the overall title at the Dauphiné, recognising that his fitness is not where it needs to be. The challenging mountain top finish up to Samoëns 1600 on stage 7 revealed all.

“Finishes like this, you need to be at 100% to perform at your best,” Evenepoel continued. “I mean, it's a 10% climb, so it's a climb that doesn't lie. I think it's clear that there's still some work, but like I already said in the beginning of the week, if I drop, I will keep pushing just to train, I mean, to improve my shape, so that's what I did.” 

“I don't think I did bad with the focus on the Tour,” Evenepoel added, keeping his focus on the weeks ahead.

The 24-year-old Belgian is confident that with three weeks still to go until the start of the Tour de France in Florence, his condition can improve and reckons that this week of hard racing is exactly what his body needs. 

“I need a race to really improve, to build shape, so that's why I'm here...I think it's good to suffer like this,” Evenepoel said.

“It's good for my shape, it's good for my head and just for my fighting spirit. So, yeah, nothing strange happened today. I expected this in the morning, and in the last valley, I think with 25 km to go, I said to the team that I was just not feeling good enough, so I was going to drop straight away at the bottom and then do my own pace, which was the best decision that I could take.”

Roglič 'happy' with his condition

While Evenepoel’s form is a point of concern ahead of the Tour, Roglič has cemented himself as one of the top favourites to take the yellow jersey with his performances in the Dauphiné. The Bora-Hansgrohe rider never looked in danger throughout the first two mountain stages and his team look ready to support him at the Tour.

When asked about his form after winning stage 7, Roglič said "I'm just happy about it. We put a lot of work with the whole team and it's nice to see that it pays off quite fast, that we did the right things."

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), the fourth expected figurehead in the battle for the Tour de France’s maillot jaune, showed imperious shape during his dominant Giro d'Italia victory last month. However, with the denouement of the Tour de France coming a whole eight weeks after that of the Giro, can he really hold that condition all the way to Nice and through the Tour’s difficult final week in the Alps?

Doubt remains over that question. Even more questionable is the form of Evenepoel and Vingegaard respectively as the Tour’s Grand Départ looms ever closer.

Meanwhile, having won the first two mountain stages at the Dauphiné, there is a case to be made that it is Roglič who is now emerging as the favourite to win the Tour. Of the ‘big four’, it is he who is showing the best form at the perfect time with the smoothest, most predictable run into the 2024 Tour de France.

Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) has won stage 7 of the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné with a typical late surge on the mountain top finish of Samoëns 1600.

Roglič won his second stage of the week and extended his lead in the general classification and will hold a healthy lead heading into the final stage as Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick-Step) fell down the standings on a tough day in the Alps.

Matteo Jorgensen (Visma-Lease a Bike) was closest to the Slovenian, finishing second, while Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) was third.

The American also climbed up to second on the overall standings and Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) moved onto the podium in third.

The difficulty of more the 4,000 metres of elevation over the day's 155 kilometres was magnified by the inclement weather that the race has been used to all week. Roglič was pleased to make it through the stage and to be able to reward his team-mates for their work.

"It was a hard day, but guys did an amazing job having everything under control from the very start till the finish, so I'm glad I had the legs at the end to finish top," Roglič said whilst warming down after the stage. 

"The guys did an incredible job," he continued. "We all still feel it, after the crash and putting now these hard days in the legs. I mean, for sure nobody feels better, but with the commitment and work they put in [it's] another day that we can celebrate and be happy."

With one day to go, Roglič looks set to win the Dauphiné for the second time. He's keeping calm, as ever, and is focused on the job at hand with a final stage in the mountains.

"First things first, let's try to finish tomorrow also on two wheels. We do our best and we'll see what happens then," he concluded.

How it happened

The day began in Albertville with the reverberations of stage 5's horror crash still ringing through the race. Eight riders had abandoned before the first pedal was pushed, including Lidl-Trek's British Tour de France hope Tao Geoghegan Hart.

The early attacks began on the on the first big climb of the day, the Col des Sais, with dozens of riders seemingly keen to make the move of the day.

As things eventually settled there were eleven riders who made up the breakaway: Koen Bouwman (Visma-Lease a Bike), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Dorian Godon & Nicolas Prodhomme (both Decathlon-AG2R), Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Davide Formolo (Movistar), Warren Barguil (dsm-firmenich-Post NL), Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost), Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana Qazaqstan) and Mark Donovan (Q36.5).

Once formed, that group largely stayed together up until the penultimate climb, the 14 kilometre Col de la Ramaz, when Marc Soler took off. He was initially pursued by Fortunato ahead of the rest of the chasers. Soler's lead peaked around the the 5:30 mark towards the top of the Ramaz, meaning that for a while Soler was in the virtual lead of the race having started the day 3:45 down on Primož Roglič.

The risk to Roglič's jersey was rubbed out on the valley road before the final climb up to Samoëns 1600. Soler's lead was close to four minutes as he reached the foot of the savage nine kilometre ascent.

Bora-Hansgrohe set a firm pace on the front of the favourites' group at the bottom of the climb. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick-Step), sitting second on GC coming into the day, was the first big name to to be distanced by the group with seven kilometres to go. The world time trial champion measured his effort well and would go on to lose 1:46, slipping to sixth overall. Remarkably 19-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider Josh Tarling would out-last Evenepoel, riding in support of team-mate Carlos Rodriguez.

As he entered the second half of the climb, Soler's lead began to melt away. The Spaniard appeared to be labouring, contrasting Alexandr Vlasov who looked light on the pedals as he guided Roglič and the rest of the group. With three kilometres to go, Soler's advantage slipped to less than a minute. A kilometre later Soler seemed to slow to walking pace and the catch was made.

Vlasov continued to set an infernal pace under the flamme rouge, meaning that no one was able to launch an early attack. Santiago Buitrago was the first to go with 600 metres left, Oier Lazkano and then the rest of the group was on his wheel. Lazkano attacked with 300 left and whittled the group down before Roglič launched his sprint.

Jorgensen was the only rider able to go with Roglič, but a second burst of speed in the closing moments sealed a second stage win of the week for the Bora-Hansgrohe rider. 

Roglič now heads into the final stage of the race with just over a minute's advantage on Jorgensen and looks good to hold onto that lead to claim his second Critérium du Dauphiné crown.

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné 2024, stage seven: Alberville > Samoëns 1600 (155km)

1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 04:29:16
2. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, at same time
3. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2s
4. Oier Lazkano (Esp) Movistar, at same time
5. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, at same time
6. Carlos Rodriguez (Esp), +8s
7. Santiago Buitrago (Col) Bahrain Victorious, +14s
8. Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers, at same time
9. Aleksandr Vlasov Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time
10. Mikel Landa (Esp) Soudal - Quick-Step, +33s

General Classification after stage seven

1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 21:16:50
2. Matteo Jorgenson (Usa) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:02
3. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, +1:13
4. Aleksandr Vlasov Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:56
5. Carlos Rodriguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:58
6. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +2:15
7. Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers, +2:17
8. Oier Lazkano (Esp) Movistar, +2:20
9. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:54
10. Mikel Landa (Esp) Soudal - Quick-Step, +3:51

Primož Roglič took control of the Critérium du Dauphiné by taking victory on stage six at Le Collet d'Allevard which saw him move into the overall race lead ahead of the final two stages. 

The Slovenian appeared to be back to his best since his winter move to the German team from Visma-Lease a Bike, and launched a trademark powerful sprint in the final kilometre of the mountain stage which comfortably dispatched Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) from the back wheel of his Specialized Tarmac. 

Roglič’s win was partly down to sterling work from his teammate, Aleksandr Vlasov, who tracked an attack from Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) before Ciccone, Roglič and a select group of other riders, including Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), joined them. Vlasov then set a blistering pace to tee up his team leader and reduced the group to just the two Bora riders and Ciccone. 

Once Roglič took flight, there would be no stopping him and the 34-year-old comfortably took his 81st career victory on the steep summit finish. Evenepoel crossed the line in eighth, 42 seconds back on the stage winner, which meant that Roglič now holds a 19 second lead on the Quick-Step man in the general classification. 

After being caught up in the huge crash on stage five, Roglič said at the finish that he had hurt his shoulder in the fall and was in discomfort throughout Friday’s stage. 

"I’m quite limited with the left shoulder actually," he said. "I couldn’t reach in my [jersey] pocket or anything… the legs were working so about both legs, I cannot complain." 

"Finally I won a race, it’s been a while," he added. "The whole team, the guys showed commitment from the very start, from day one. And then chasing on the second stage, it didn’t work out. Yesterday hit us quite hard, all of us, but today again they showed a great performance so a big thanks to them, we can enjoy today."

How it happened

Stage six, the first of three summit finishes to wrap up the French stage race, was a 173 kilometre affair between Hauterives and Le Collet d’Allevard. The riders faced two smaller climbs before reaching the hors categories ascent to the finish. 

A six-rider strong breakaway soon got up the road and established an advantage. Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) was present in the move, as was Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Arjen Livyns (Lotto-Dstny), Alessandro Fancellu (Q36.5) and Mason Hollyman (Israel-Premier Tech). 

Hollyman, however, later dropped out of the lead group after coming down on the descent from the penultimate climb of the day. Guernalec also came down but was able to re-join the Cort led breakaway. 

The breakaway lost half a minute from their lead after being sent the wrong way on the course. 

With 11 kilometres to go the leaders began the final climb with an advantage of just under two minutes on the chasing peloton led by Soudal Quick-Step and Josh Tarling of Ineos Grenadiers. A double salvo of attacks from Grégoire in the break pulled him and Cort away from the rest of the group as the peloton drew near. 

At seven kilometres to the line, Grégoire was clear of Cort by a handful of seconds with the peloton 55 seconds back. A big shift from Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) on the front of the main field meant that Cort was reeled back in. 

Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) then launched an attack straight after the catch was made. De Plus took Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) with him and the duo soon caught the lone Frenchman. 

Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) then took off in search of the two leaders and Roglič was on his wheel. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) went with them, as did Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) and Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers). The chase group soon joined De Plus and Vlasov and the two Bora-Hansgrohe riders soon ramped up the pace.

Vlasov then buried himself with a huge effort which distanced everyone except for Roglič and Ciccone. 

Once Roglič then took control there was no looking back, and he launched a brutal sprint for the line which Ciccone couldn’t match. The Slovenian comfortably took the stage win and took over the race lead. 

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné 2024, stage six: Hauterives > Le Collet d'Allevard (173km)

1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 04:19:59
2. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +3s
3. Aleksandr Vlasov Bora-Hansgrohe, +11s
4. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, +13s
5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +17s
6. Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers, +22s
7. Carlos Rodriguez (Esp), at same time
8. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +42s
9. Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious, +50s
10. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, +53s

General classification after stage six

1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 16:47:44
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +19s
3. Matteo Jorgenson (Usa) Visma-Lease a Bike, +58s
4. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, +1:01
5. Aleksandr Vlasov Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:32
6. Carlos Rodriguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:40
7. Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:53
8. Oier Lazkano (Esp) Movistar, +2:08
9. Callum Scotson (Aus) Jayco-AIUla, +2:15
10. Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious, 2:31 

At the turn of the new year, Red Bull was revealed as the latest high profile brand looking to come on board with a professional cycling team. 

The plan became a reality this week as Red Bull was confirmed as the new majority owner and title sponsor of the German Bora-Hansgrohe team. 

On the eve of the Giro d’Italia, team CEO Ralph Denk confirmed that the energy drink branding will appear on the team’s gear, including helmets, at this year’s Tour de France after he sold a 51% share of the team’s managing company.

Denk confirmed in a pre-race press conference that Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe will have an increased budget and an under-23 development team moving forward as they aim to become the biggest, best and strongest team in the WorldTour.

The team acquired Primož Roglič from Visma-Lease a Bike during the off season, but Denk explained that winning the Tour de France with the 34-year-old was not the only big target.

"With the arrival of Red Bull, we have big, big goals but the Tour de France isn't the only goal," Denk said. "We want to be the number one brand, the most attractive brand in cycling. That’s the big goal for the whole project. We know we can’t do that in a few weeks but it’s the long-term approach of this project."

But what else can we expect to see from the new Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe project? In an interview with Cycling Weekly, Denk expanded further on what can be expected from the ambitious new project and went inside the deal.

Red Bull philosophy & no more big money signings

Many of Red Bull’s other sporting projects, particularly those in football, have centred on the importance of youth development and shaping players to a particular style of play. 

Players like Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, and Liverpool's Dominik Szobozlai started out at RB Leipzig before moving on to the Premier League and Bundesliga giants. 

Denk explained that within reason, cycling fans can expect to see a similar philosophy at Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, particularly due to the team’s new under-23 development team. 

"Definitely, we call it the rookie programme from under-19," he said. "Even the scouting project is below under-19. Then we have our own under-19 team, GRENKE - Auto Eder, and our new under-23 team from next year on. 

"I think that's big proof of how important the whole rookie programmes are in the future for us. And yes, that's part of the mission and vision from Red Bull. 

"If you look to the current from Formula One field too, there are 20 spots within the bunch of cars, and 12 spots have a Red Bull history, from the Red Bull rookie programme, the drivers."

Denk said that he felt spending big money was the quick and easy way to achieve success, and that the intrigue of a longer term project was part of what made the team so appealing to the energy drink giants. 

"Our approach is not to go to someone like Tadej Pogačar now and buy him out of his contract," he said. "So we will establish something of our own style from scratch. And yeah, it takes time but we have the time so yeah, we all just say let's start the project."

Helmets and individual rider sponsorship

In the initial announcement, Denk explained that Bora-Hansgrohe will literally have a wholly new identity from the Tour onwards with new branding, in line with their new owners, appearing on bikes, helmets and clothing. 

Red Bull already were visible in men’s cycling due to individually sponsoring big name riders including the likes of Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert. Both of the two riders, along with Bora’s own Anton Palzer, wear Red Bull branded helmets while competing and training. 

Pidcock solely uses his Red Bull helmet for off road competition in both mountain bike and cyclo-cross. Van Aert very visibly wears a Red Bull helmet on the road. 

Cycling Weekly understands that Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s new team helmets are likely to bear strong resemblance to those already seen elsewhere. Denk explained that he didn’t see an issue with other riders outside of his team wearing Red Bull branded helmets moving forward and that he didn't feel it would raise a conflict of interest.

"I cannot speak for Red Bull," he said. "But I don't see that, not really, as a problem on that point. And yeah, it's the decision of Red Bull, not my decision, but if this happens [Red Bull continuing with individual sponsorship], I'm fine with it." 

Investors away from the Middle East

Reaching super-team status was always going to require significant investment from any potential new team owner. Only certain companies, countries or individuals are capable of providing such capital in the current international sporting market. 

However, unlike other teams in the WorldTour like UAE Team Emirates, Bahrain Victorious and Jayco AlUla, Bora-Hansgrohe did not look to Middle Eastern investment.

Denk explained that any new owner, investor, or sponsor looking to do business with his team would need to be one that takes a holistic approach, and also one that ideally was close to home. With that considered it made Red Bull the perfect party to enter negotiations with. 

"That's the main reason why my feelings are so good with this,” he said. “And hopefully the whole team will also share that feeling soon. It's a big add on, they [Red Bull] are from the same area where we are based. We speak the same language, the same dialect, and that feels much more comfortable as opposed to some external investor from far away countries." 

"In the last years, cycling has changed a lot, not just from the style of racing but clearly from the economic side as well," he added. "And I, as an owner and CEO, had to take a decision regarding what we do. 

"Do we go on with our currently stable partners, Bora and Hansgrohe, they are really fantastic partners and I'm super thankful to them... Or are we aiming for something big and looking for an investor? A lot of cycling teams already have an investor, some of them from Arabic countries, and for us we figured out what was best for us. 

"They [Red Bull] visited us in the Tour and they saw how big the Tour is, how big our sport is, and how big the bike market is in general. I think they went a bit deeper for the marketing numbers in there and I think they were surprised how good they are so from that, the story starts."

Primož Roglič is to skip both La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in order to continue his recovery from injuries suffered at Itzulia Basque Country, it was announced on Friday.

The Bora-Hansgrohe rider, a former winner of Liège, was caught up in the horror crash on stage four which saw Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) break bones.

While the Slovenian escaped without fractures, it was his second crash in two days in Spain, and is said to have "extensive wounds".

"Primož was with us the whole week to treat his extensive wounds and his knee," Dan Lorang, the head of performance for Bora-Hansgrohe, said. "We want to give his body time to fully recover from these injuries, because our big goal is the Tour de France. That's why we've decided to focus on his training for the next week."

In an image posted on his Instagram page, the extent of Roglič's injuries are clear, with plasters covering much of his body.

He won Liège in 2020, the year that Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) celebrated early, and would be thought of as a favourite for the race in usual circumstances. In his absence, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will be among the favourites.

Roglič was possibly the best off from the big crash at Itzulia, with Evenepoel and Vingegaard both spending time off the bike due to injuries sustained in the incident.

On Tuesday, Vingegaard's team said that he had gone through a "successful" collarbone operation, however: "He will now spend the next few weeks recovering. It is not yet clear how long this will take."

The Dane suffered a collapsed lung in the crash, along with breaking "several ribs", and therefore it is unknown in what state he will be to defend his Tour de France crown in July.

The worst-affected were Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) and Steff Cras (TotalEnergies). Vine broke his spine in three places, but said after a "pretty scary" couple of days that he could now to take a couple of steps with a walker. "[I] just can’t believe that I will still be able to walk and play with my kids one day," he wrote on Instagram.

Cras also suffered spinal fractures, but is already on the road to recovery. "The good news is that my participation in the Tour de France is not in jeopardy," he said.

Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel were among those caught up in a horror crash on stage four of Itzulia Basque Country on Thursday afternoon. 

The trio were involved in the incident with under 40km to go in northern Spain, which occurred on a sweeping right hand bend on a descent; it appeared that riders that slid out hit a concrete drainage ditch. Six riders were reportedly taken to hospital.

Around 12 riders were impacted. Also involved in the crash were Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost), Alexander Cepeda and Natnael Tesfatsion (Lidl-Trek).

The race was neutralised as a result, with all of the event's ambulances involved in attending to the casualties. Visma-Lease a Bike's Vingegaard appeared the worst off of the trio, with the Danish Tour de France winner remaining on the ground for a long time after the crash.

He was later seen on a stretcher being taken into an ambulance in live TV pictures, but was later reported as conscious. 

Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) was pictured holding his collarbone but was able to walk away, while Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) was shown on the ground talking to medical staff. Evenepoel appeared able to bunny hop across the drainage ditch, but crashed in the trees, but Roglič, Vingegaard and others were unable to avoid it. Roglič later departed in a Bora team car.

The race was neutralised with 27.9km to go. The climb of Untzilla was taken out of the route, with the stage supposed to continue with 17km to go, but the race was then neutralised again, all the way to the finish. However, the break of six up the road were allowed to contest the stage, but with no time gained or lost.

Visma-Lease a Bike tweeted: "Jonas is on his way to the hospital. An update will follow later." Evenepoel was also confirmed as abandoning the six stage race, while Vine and Quinn were also reported to be heading to hospital.

Visma later followed up with: "Update: Jonas is conscious and will be examined in the hospital now. Thank you for your messages. More updates later."

EF Education-EasyPost tweeted: "Alexander Cepeda and Sean Quinn were involved in a crash in stage 4 of Tour of Basque Country. Sean Quinn was forced to abandon. Medical evaluation is ongoing. Further updates to come."

"There has been a big crash with Roglič involved," Bora-Hansgrohe said. "Updates to follow as soon as they are available. We hope everyone involved is ok."

"Vine is conscious and talking," UAE Team Emirates said. "We will give an update later after further medical checks."

The week had already seen major withdrawals, with Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) among those heading home early from the Basque Country before stage four.

The race from the rain, through the sun, to the hail, to the rain. That was stage three of Paris-Nice in a nutshell. As the last few teams tore across the line in Auxerre, a hail storm erupted leaving already cold and wet bodies aching even further. 

Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel were both swaddled in towels, jackets and warm clothing by soigneurs as reporters watched on, hoping someone would take pity and hand them a towel to dry dictaphones and camera lenses. In the end, nobody did, and some were even removing sodden trainers as Brandon McNulty, the new race leader, walked into the post-stage press conference representing the stage three winners, UAE Team Emirates. 

Many were surprised to see Soudal Quick-Step finish 21 seconds down on UAE and Bora-Hansgrohe finish 54 seconds adrift. McNulty told the room of journalists and other media that he was equally as shocked and admitted that he felt the inclement weather towards the end of the stage had been decisive. 

"No not at all, but I think we were a bit lucky with the weather now," he said when asked if he was expecting such a time gap. "But in the end we’ll take what we can and you make your own luck there. But in the end, it's how it is and we will just enjoy this win.

"I think overall we had a good ride as a team. I mean, all things even, I think we would still be up there. But that's impossible to say in the end how much the weather really did affect us but I think we can be super proud of the way we rode, I think we executed it perfectly, did our pacing as we wanted so we're all proud of the way we rode today."

As well as McNulty in the race lead, UAE now have Finn Fisher Black, João Almeida and Jay Vine in second, third and fourth respectively. 

Reflecting on the team’s performance, McNulty talked through the improvements that UAE had made to its time trial equipment in recent months which he said had been integral on the course around Auxerre. 

"We had Nils [Politt] who was going to be our big guy on the flats and then the rest of us I think we're pretty even, we're all good time trialists," he explained. “So we really just had to push on the climbs and then stick together and use that to carry more speed on the fast ride home, which worked out perfectly."

"The team has developed a new frame, I guess two years ago now," he added. “And then we made the switch to the Enve wheels last year and the tires also to Continental. So all these things add up and are huge, especially nowadays with how tech. 

"Also our skin suit is super, super fast and precise. So it's really the whole package. So yeah, it's benefited the whole team."

With the TTT chalked off, the overall favourites will now inevitably be offensive as the race heads towards the slopes of Mont Brouilly for stage four. Evenepoel is now eighth overall, 18 seconds from the race lead, with Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) a further two seconds back in tenth. Meanwhile Primož Roglič lies almost a minute from the leader's jersey in 28th place. 

Given how the time trial played out, McNulty said he is expecting fireworks for the rest of the race as Evenepoel, Bernal and Roglič look to reassert their authority. 

“In the end it's nice to have a big gap but it also means that the race is going to be super difficult and aggressive," he said. "So we'll just have to be defensive and watch for attacks from the other teams. So we'll see, but it'll definitely be a hard race. I guess tomorrow on Mont Brouilly it'll be really tough and then when the weekend comes too.

“Tomorrow looks really difficult. I've seen some different things about the stage on Saturday with the weather and what not so I don't know what's going to happen there. Tomorrow, I think it will be one of the toughest stages of the week and then the final day in Nice is always chaos.” 

Ahead of stage two of Paris-Nice, the Visma-Lease a Bike team bus was a picture of tranquillity and calmness as the Dutch squad began to set up in the paddock area outside the Château de Thoiry. 

There were a handful of fans hovering around the bus, admiring the Cervélo bikes being set up by mechanics, but few reporters lingering hoping to pick up sound bites from some of the team's biggest stars. 

A stark contrast to recent editions of la course au soleil in which bigger names like Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert and Primož Roglič have all lined up for the Dutch super team. 

Meanwhile a few hundred metres down the paddock, the Bora-Hansgrohe bus was the complete opposite as fans congregated around the German team’s setup, hoping for a photo or an autograph from Ralph Denk’s new superstar, Roglič himself, after he joined during the winter. 

"Why, good morning guys!" Roglič called over as he rode past his former colleagues on the way to sign on. 

As things stand, Visma could be set to move back into the limelight at the French stage race, Matteo Jorgenson, their new American superstar, could pull on the yellow jersey if things go to plan in stage three’s team time trial on Tuesday afternoon. 

Jorgenson hit the ground running after joining from Movistar, impressing during Omloop Het Nieuwsblad before heading to France. The American was in the thick of the action during the early GC skirmish on stage one as riders duked it out for early bonus seconds. 

Mathieu Heijboer, Visma’s head of performance, told Cycling Weekly in Thoiry that the team were thrilled with the American’s first steps in his new surroundings and shared some insight into the process that eventually brought Jorgenson to Visma-Lease a Bike. 

"He did a great job. catching those seconds and staying out of trouble," Heijboer said as he reflected on Jorgenson’s start to Paris-Nice. 

"He's a very all round, high quality rider," he added. “He's good at a lot of things and yesterday that explosive effort on the climb was also a good sign. But of course, he will also be strong on longer climbs for us and he needs to be one of our engines tomorrow in the TTT. 

"We love those all round riders that are good in general classification battles but also in Classics."

Classics star in the making

Jorgenson was gradually developing a reputation for strong Classics performances at Movistar. He took fourth at last year’s edition of the E3 Saxo Classic before going on to star on the stage to the Puy-de-Dôme at the Tour de France. 

The American has also previously spoken of the personal investment that he’s made into developing his own performances, which Heijboer explained hugely appealed to Visma. 

He said: "There's always a big process going on until the actual signing of a rider. So first, of course, it starts a little bit with seeing their results, but you also hear other riders talking in the peloton, maybe some guys doing a strong move that nobody saw, but the riders in the peloton did see it for us. 

"When he [Jorgenson] started winning big races like the Tour of Oman, and he was very strong in Romandie one year but also he was very, very good in the Classics. That was then we knew that he would be a great asset for our team."

"We knew he could develop a lot"

"We also knew he could develop a lot because if you had spent so much time investing in your own career like he did. We can take away those extra cares, let's say, and make sure he can focus fully on training and recovering and we then take away all the extra energy that he needs to put out."

Heijboer explained that Jorgenson wasn’t the first American to have entered the team’s radar thanks to whispers from the bunch. 

"That's how things sometimes go," he said. “It's always easy to look at results and to just go out for the riders who are very promising with their results.

"But also when you hear the guys talking about a rider doing great efforts, that's already for us, let's say a small sign to look a little bit better at certain guys. 

"A good example is Sepp Kuss," he added. “He first came onto our radar when he just did a great effort, a little bit in the Tour of California behind the front group. 

"Then Grischa Niermann, our coach, said at the time ‘if you can close a gap from here to there, that means you must be very strong' and then we started looking into Sepp some more. 

"So that's how things can go sometimes for us."

Ineos Grenadiers were left delighted by Egan Bernal’s late showing on stage one of Paris-Nice. 

The Colombian came across the line smiling after briefly igniting some minor general classification action on the opening stage, a punchy circuit around Les Mureaux which was won by Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike). 

"One stage less," he told Cycling Weekly post stage. "We’ll go through it stage by stage but keep our feet on the ground."

"We had a plan to move the race on that last climb," he later added in a video from his team. "We were in a good position and then when I saw the opportunity I just followed the guys. We tried to make the race hard and we did it."

Bonus seconds can prove to be crucial in Paris-Nice, as was shown by the top riders determination to attack to snap up what was on offer at the only intermediate sprint point of the day, a steep uphill drag at Montainville. 

Bernal accelerated on the 10% ramp, grabbing third behind Visma-Lease a Bike’s Matteo Jorgenson and Remco Evenepoel. Jorgenson was the first rider to jump but some of the overall race favourites were straight onto his wheel. Bernal was rewarded with two seconds for his efforts. 

However, perhaps more impressive was Bernal’s willingness to push on once the race hit the final climb of the day, the Côte d'Herbeville. The Colombian surged off the front of the main field to test his legs once more and was briefly joined by Evenepoel and Primož Roglič. 

The move was short lived, but showed that the Colombian is gradually regaining some confidence as he returns to WorldTour racing after a serious crash in 2022 which left him severely injured. A long period of rehabilitation followed before he eventually returned to racing action. 

The former Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winner started the current season in strong form and took third overall at O Gran Camiño behind Jonas Vingegaard. 

Steve Cummings, head of racing at Ineos Grenadiers, told Cycling Weekly in Les Mureaux that simply having Bernal present at the race already felt like a victory.

"Obviously, it was a brutal, brutal accident," Cummings said as he reflected on Bernal's comeback. "It's worth looking back and reminding yourself about how bad it was. And then, since then, he's just steadily improved, step by step, and he continues to improve. So it's really good, I’m really happy. 

"I read something yesterday, like the first 40 hours, they weren't sure if he was going to walk and all of this kind of stuff. So it's incredible, really, just to have him at the race and then to see he keeps improving, it feels like a victory every day to be honest."

"He's a really special character in that way as well," he added. "Very resilient. gritty, happy and a very good person."

Paris-Nice continues on Monday with an opportunity for the sprinters. Stage two is a flat 179 kilometre run between Thoiry and Montargis. 

Primož Roglič took a step into the unknown on Sunday morning as he got set to ride in new colours and with new teammates for the first time at Paris-Nice. 

Last year’s Giro d’Italia winner is making his debut for Bora-Hansgrohe after joining the German squad during the winter from Visma-Lease a Bike. 

He will lead the line for his new team at the Tour de France in July as he gets set to go up against former teammate Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogačar. 

The Slovenian is one of the hot favourites for victory at Paris-Nice, his first race of the season, but told gathered reporters in Les Mureaux that he would be taking each day as it comes in his first outing in Bora colours. 

"We will see, we’ll certainly try to do our best,” Roglič said when asked about his chances of overall victory in Nice next weekend. 

"Obviously we don’t know each other that well, we’ve never raced together so a bunch of things will happen and you have to be open to everything,” he added. “The most important thing is that you take the learnings out of it all and carry that into the next races that follow.”

The sight of the Slovenian rolling to the start line in green as opposed to yellow and black, the colours of his former team, certainly took some getting used to. 

Roglič joked himself that he was still adapting to his new surroundings which included the new kit. 

He said: "Yeah it's beautiful, I like it. So far, so good [with Bora-Hansgrohe]. Everything's been fine. I’ve just been looking forward to coming here and getting the season started.” 

Roglič has enjoyed mixed fortunes across the years at Paris-Nice. Back in 2021 he dramatically missed out on overall victory on the final day after two heavy crashes left him injured. 

However, he returned to the race a year later and beat Great Britain’s Simon Yates to the overall title. 

After skipping last year’s edition, Roglič explained it was nice to return with positive memories of his last appearance. 

"After all the years, you collect a lot of different emotions but you definitely always keep the best ones,” he said. “It's a really great race, and I'm looking forward to going day by day towards home now.”

The acquisition of Roglič by Ralph Denk’s team has immediately seen them labelled as a genuine contender for Tour victory in July. 

Speaking late last year as he announced news of his new signing, Denk explained that Roglič would help him achieve a life long ambition. 

"My personal goal is for us to win the Tour, it's a dream for me,” Denk said. “This was the chance to take one of the biggest contenders. We are realistic, he's not the only contender. So we need luck, we need a super strong team and an outstanding performance from Primož Roglič.

"But it's already a nice feeling for me for the whole team, to be a contender, a real contender."

Once Strade Bianche on Saturday has been and gone, the men’s WorldTour season rolls on with Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico getting underway, on Sunday and Monday respectively.

The provisional start lists for both week long stage races are littered with an array of cycling’s biggest stars and should be quite the spectacle. Remco Evenepoel will continue his preparations for his Tour de France debut at Paris-Nice where he will face off against Primož Roglič. 

Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard will be looking to carry on his hugely successful start to his  new campaign at Tirreno-Adriatico. The defending two-time Tour champion opted to ride Paris-Nice last year where he finished third, but is going to Italy this time. He will return to Tirreno for the first time since 2022 in which he finished second to Tadej Pogačar. 

Away from the general classification action, both races should see plenty of aggressive racing from stars including Ben Healy, Tom Pidcock and Mads Pedersen. The sprinters will also get their moment in the limelight on the flatter stages too. 

Here are seven things to look out for once the racing gets started. 

Primož Roglič’s Bora-Hansgrohe debut 

All eyes will be on Primož Roglič this weekend as he gets set to make his Bora-Hansgrohe debut after making the move from Visma-Lease a Bike at the end of last season. 

Roglič has forged a solid reputation as being one of the very best stage racers. As well as winning the Giro d’Italia last year, the Slovenian won every week-long race he entered, winning 10 of the last 13 he has entered, in fact.

It will be intriguing to see how he approaches Paris-Nice with his new teammates. Will he look to take the race on and ignite it or simply get his legs going, and ominously tick over in the background? You would be best placed putting your money on the former. 

There is plenty of firepower in the provisional Bora squad for next week. Backed up by the likes of Aleksandr Vlasov and Bob Jungels, Roglič won’t be short of support as he locks horns with Remco Evenepoel and looks to land his first trophy in his new team's colours. 

Tao Geoghegan Hart continuing comeback 

Geoghegan Hart made his long awaited return to action after injury at the recent Volta ao Algarve, which was also his debut for Lidl-Trek. 

The Londoner fractured his femur in a crash at last year’s Giro which left him side-lined for months prior to his off season transfer to his new team. There were no expectations on his shoulders when he returned to action in Portugal, but he finished seventh on the race's two key mountain stages. 

It was an impressive return given his long layoff and one which he will have been more than happy with. Geoghegan Hart is set to lead the line for his new team at the Tour de France this summer, alongside Mads Pedersen, so Tirreno is another step on the way there.

After a long absence from competition, it’s difficult to predict how comeback races will pan out for a rider but based on his performance in the Algarve, it’s like he was never away at all. 

Explosive racing from Jonas Vingegaard

While everyone was tuned in to Opening Weekend, Jonas Vingegaard was busy getting his season underway at the relatively new Spanish stage race, O Gran Camino. With the four stages out of the way, the consensus is that Vingegaard looks very, very good indeed. 

The defending Tour de France champion completely obliterated all competition to win the general classification, and three stages along the way. It was the second year in a row that he’d pulled this off. 

What was particularly notable was his willingness to take the race on, and ignite the action earlier on in stages than we are perhaps used to seeing. There were early attacks to test rivals legs, pushing away from the main field before sitting up and coming back into the fold. That’s the type of behaviour that you would expect from his rival, Tadej Pogačar, more so than the Dane. 

If Vingegaard looks to continue that attacking style at Tirreno-Adriatico next week, then we could be in for a gripping week of racing from the word go. 

Josh Tarling looking to hit out for Ineos Grenadiers

Josh Tarling is gradually becoming one of the most talked about riders in the sport, despite being just 19-years-old, down to his top time trialling. 

Hailing from Aberaeron in west Wales, the Ineos Grenadiers rider is already one of the best time trialists currently riding in the WorldTour and will only get better. Last summer, Tarling took the bronze medal at the World Championships behind Remco Evenepoel and Ineos teammate Filippo Ganna. He then went on to win the European time trial title just a few months later. His unbeaten streak in ITTs currently stands at four, with Chrono des Nations, one at the Renewi Tour, and the opening stage of O Gran Camiño thrown in.

Paris-Nice lacks an individual time trial this year, but stage three is a team time trial in Auxerre, which he could well help his team out in, despite its hilly profile. Tarling is also looking to claim a road race at some point this season, and where better than in a long range attack on a stage of Paris-Nice?

In other British interests, Tom Pidcock will be one to watch on the punchier days at Tirreno.

Remco Evenepoel's next move

Evenepoel has started the new season with a bang after coming out of a block of racing in Portugal with GC victory to his name at the Volta ao Algarve as well as a win at the Figueira Champions Classic. 

In the Algarve, he demonstrated that he was in fine time trial form, landing a first victory in the rainbow bands as time trial world champion. 

However, Paris-Nice will provide a much sterner test than what Evenepoel faced in Portugal, especially with Primož Roglič present.

Roglič got the better of Evenepoel at the Volta a Catalunya early on last year but, after such a strong start, Evenepoel will be keen to continue the momentum as he builds towards July and a Tour de France.

Will Mads Pedersen continue his sparkling early season form?

So far in 2024, Mads Pedersen’s form book reads two stage races, two overall victories, and four stage wins. The former World Champion completely steamrolled any form of competition at both the Tour de la Provence and Etoile de Bessèges to get his season going with a bang. 

Alongside Mattias Skjelmose, Pedersen will be one of Lidl-Trek’s leaders at Paris-Nice and, judging by his current form, will be a solid bet for a stage win somewhere along the way. He has won stages at Paris-Nice before, including stage two last year, and knows what it takes to outfox the sprinters or win from a breakaway on hillier terrain. 

With the Classics hotting up in the weeks ahead, it will be interesting to see if Pedersen’s hot streak continues in the coming days. 

Ben Healy on the attack

Ben Healy will line up in Italy once again after lighting it up at the Giro d’Italia last year. 

The EF Education-EasyPost rider was regularly on the attack at the Italian Grand Tour and was rewarded with a stage win for his efforts on stage eight. He very nearly landed a second too, and some of the terrain at Tirreno looks perfect for him.

Healy is explosive, punchy and aggressive and always looking to get up the road in pursuit of breakaway opportunities. 

EF are also expected to take Richard Carapaz to Italy in search of GC opportunities. When not working for the Ecuadorian, Healy will hopefully be let off the leash as he should flourish on some of the hillier stages at Tirreno.

A spectre is haunting Visma-Lease a Bike - the spectre of Primož Roglič.

The Dutch team, formerly Jumbo-Visma, have undergone more than a name change this winter, thanks to the departure of their former star rider, the three-time Vuelta a España victor and reigning Giro d'Italia champion, Roglič.

The Slovenian won 55 WorldTour races for the Dutch outfit over his eight seasons with the squad, with those Grand Tour wins the highlight, but countless others. Arguably, the 34-year-old has been the best stage racer of his generation, picking up wins at all sorts of week-long events, from Tirreno-Adriatico to Itzulia Basque Country. His loss, as a result of his off-season move to Bora-Hansgrohe, will be felt keenly.

Visma-Lease a Bike are not pretending to be bullish about the hole that Roglič will leave - far from it, in fact. The team which won all three Grand Tours in 2023 will be weaker this year, and they know it. Everyone knows it.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly at in Australia, Visma stalwart Robert Gesink, in his 18th and final season with the squad, explained that it's "definitely going to be a loss".

"We're totally aware that now Primož has gone that we're not going to be winning as much as we did last year, because Primož was just insane," the 37-year-old said. "Every race he started he basically won, so that's going to definitely be a loss in terms of the amount of victories we will get...

"Primož, and guys like that, I mean, there's only a few of them in the world. So it's not as easy as copying that. With Primož, you were sure that you could go to a race and have a guy for the victory. With other guys you might need a few years to get to that point."

The Dutchman has been through Visma in all its iterations, from the late days of Rabobank, through its re-emergence as LottoNL-Jumbo, to all-conquering Jumbo-Visma, and now Visma-Lease a Bike. 

While it did not technically end 2023 as the best team, according to the UCI - that honour went to UAE Team Emirates - it felt like the best team, with all three Grand Tours in the bag. It will be a hard act to follow, one which has proved difficult for other teams. Ineos Grenadiers, for example, once the top team in the world, are now looking to reinvigorate themselves, rather than seeing off all. 

That's something Visma is trying not to repeat as it sets a new course as a team to be beaten, rather than trying to beat others. There's only one place at the top of the slippery pole of cycling.

"The team is trying to try to learn from that," Gesink said. "From their mistakes perhaps, or do better. The idea of the team has changed from we are chasing the first to now to being chased. 

"With bigger budgets coming in that's not always easy, in the future either. But for now, I think we have a really strong group of riders and also some young guys with great potential to work with."

Those bigger budgets include Bora-Hansgrohe, thanks to their impending takeover by Red Bull; one can only speculate at present as to how that will affect the wider WorldTour ecosystem. 

Visma-Lease a Bike remain at the top, with Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss and Wout van Aert yet to unleash their power this season. With Cian Uijtdebroeks and Johannes Staune-Mittet coming through, they should be more than fine, but Roglič will certainly leave a hole, and his spectre will continue to worry the Dutch team.

It was prom night this week on the WorldTour. You remember your school prom, don’t you? The one where you got all dolled up with your mates, split a few pre-game Budweisers, and headed down to a local events hall - usually inside a two-star hotel - for a night of boozing, supervised by your teachers. 

For pro cyclists, it’s basically the same format, except they hold it inside a wind tunnel, apparently. 

You’ve probably already seen the photo: Specialized’s class of 2024. It was shared mercilessly across the socials this week. And we absolutely love it. 

It’s classy, quite clearly photoshopped, and made us nostalgic for that post-exams night of teenage revelry. Let me run you through the classmates. 

First there’s Jai Hindley. He’s the one who brought the Budweisers. He also brought a small tub of hair gel, and has spent 30 minutes coiffuring himself in the bathroom. 

Wedged between cool kids Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering is Primož Roglič. He told his mum he didn’t want to go. He doesn’t like the music, he said, and besides, he’s only just moved to this school, he barely knows anyone. 

His pleas were met with a blunt response. “Go make some friends, Primož.” So he went down to Moss Bros, rented a suit, and here he is, hands in his pockets, wishing he was at home on his Xbox. 

Julian Alaphilippe, by the way, is the only one who actually owns his suit. He got it for his 18th birthday, as well as a very smart watch you just have to see. 

In front of the Frenchman is Remco Evenepoel. He’s playing in the band. He’s a skilled percussionist, sat poised on his cajón, ready to drum out the rhythm to some Arctic Monkeys covers. Roglič doesn’t know any of the words. 

Finally there’s Kasper Asgeen. Lorena Wiebes, the saint that she is, has been put in charge of looking after him. At the drinks reception, the headmaster said it was strictly one glass of prosecco each, but Asgreen helped himself to more. He then called one of the teachers by their first name. 

Anyway… Elsewhere on social media this week, Geraint Thomas has been to the cinema, Katy Marchant stars in School of Rock, and the content keeps flowing out of Australia. 

1. Here they are: the class of 2024

2. You didn't really think they photographed all the riders together, did you? 

3. The afterparty never ends for showman Julian Alaphilippe

4. EF's remake is less school prom and more Teletubbies

5. Australians, please excuse our terrible Northern Hemisphere humour, but this gag never gets old

6. Crikey, mate!

7. Sam Welsford has picked up three wins so far at the Tour Down Under, and two extra arms

8. Don't mess with Mat Hayman

9. There are 22 fist bumps in this video. Who remembers when we used to bump elbows during Covid?

10. It looks like dsm-firmenich PostNL have been working on their lead-out train for Charlotte Kool

11. Introducing Arnaud de whee-Lie

12. Here's 6ft4 Alex Kirsch doing a Lidl bit of drafting

13. What did you make of the bath scene, Geraint? 

14. Cam Mason has great cyclo-cross skills, but even better taste in fizzy drinks

15. If Jack Black commentated on track cycling...

16. I like to think that if I ever won a European title, I'd celebrate with finger guns too

The festive period is well and truly in the past and the new WorldTour season is already underway. 

Kicking things off once again is the Santos Tour Down Under which is currently taking place in Adelaide, Australia on Friday. With that in mind, all of us at Cycling Weekly have been pulling on our thinking caps and coming up with a list of predictions for the upcoming action. 

Unlike last year’s slightly more audacious predictions, in which our former news editor, Vern Pitt, made the call that Jonas Vingegaard won’t win a race, we've made an effort to rein in our imaginations this time round. 

If you have a particular view on how the 2024 season will pan out, or a prediction you'd like to share with us, feel free to email tom.thewlis@futurenet.com. 

Tadej Pogačar will win the Giro d'Italia - James Shrubsall

The Slovenian star knows exactly what it takes to hit top form in late spring – see Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2021 or last year's Amstel Gold Race for proof.

But he'll have more than the Ardennes Classics on his mind this April, as he gears up for what will be a first tilt at the Giro d'Italia, set to start in Veneria Reale, just outside Turin on May 4.

The Italian Tour is part of a Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double that Tadej Pogačar has lined up for this summer. Should he manage to succeed in winning this highly sought-after pair, he will be the first rider to do so since Marco Pantani in 1998 and become only the eighth rider in history.

Predicting that Pogačar will manage this might be a step too far – it's certainly not impossible but would require so many stars to align that it would feel like little more than pub chat at this stage. But the Giro? I would be surprised not to see Pogačar wearing rosa in Rome.

This far out, the provisional start list for the race is skeletal to say the least. But on current best predictions there is only one rider who can beat Pogačar in a Grand Tour – a certain diminutive Dutchman who, as far as we know, won't be troubling him at the Giro d'Italia.

The UAE Team Emirates rider's biggest rival to be named so far is perhaps Geraint Thomas – second last year by just 14 seconds and who may feel he has unfinished business. Thomas, who will celebrate his 38th birthday on the race's final mountain stage, is unlikely to worry Pogačar though, and the Slovenian has pencilled in a cracking support team including Jay Vine and Rafał Majka, who has six Grand Tour top-10s of his own under his belt.

What's more, this being the Slovenian's debut ride at the bella corsa, he's likely to be super-motivated and confident. Not unbeatable, but not far off.

 SD Worx will be even more dominant - Tom Davidson

There’s an ominous feeling around SD Worx ahead of the new cycling season. It’s like waiting for a dam to burst. The water’s there, it’s building up, and as soon as it finds a crack, it’ll break through and destroy everything in its path. 

That was what happened last year, anyway. The Dutch squad were unstoppable, a torrent sweeping through the calendar, filling out podiums and toppling other riders’ dreams. 

The team managed a whopping 62 victories in 2023, mostly thanks to Demi Vollering, Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes. Now, there’s a feeling they’ll do it all again. 

After all, who will challenge them? Annemiek van Vleuten gave them the best run for their money last year, the Dutchwoman winning two of the major tours in the Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d’Italia Donne. But Van Vleuten has now retired, and I can’t see anyone else on the same level. 

Maybe this will be the year Lidl-Trek’s Gaia Realini makes her name. Or perhaps Juliette Labous will go on a winning spree for dsm-firmenich PostNL. Could Kasia Niewiadoma pip Vollering to the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift?

For the neutral fan, a break in the dominance would probably be welcome. Don’t bet on it, though. If this season plays out how I expect it to, SD Worx could push the 70 mark for race wins.

Primož Roglič will win the Tour de France - Tom Thewlis

Once he had been left out of last year’s Tour de France squad, it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before Primož Roglič’s residency at Jumbo-Visma came to an end. The Slovenian was never going to sit on the sidelines and show a willingness to play second fiddle to Jonas Vingegaard. 

And why should he? Roglič is undoubtedly one of the best Grand Tour GC riders currently on the WorldTour and deserves the opportunity to have another shot at Tour glory. As is well documented, Roglič came agonisingly close to a maiden Tour win in 2020 before he was beaten in that time trial on the Planche des Belles Filles. 

Now he’s moved on to pastures new with Bora-Hansgrohe, and I think this summer will be when he finally exorcises the ghosts of 2020 and pulls on the yellow jersey in Paris for his first ever Tour win. 

Roglič’s Giro win last year seems to have filled him with an even bigger hunger for Grand Tour dominance. As well as the Giro, the 34-year-old won pretty much every stage race he started last season and is more than ready for another shot at the Tour. 

Considering the talents of his competitors - particularly Remco Evenepoel - some may say that age is against Roglič. However, that thought won’t even enter the Slovenian’s head. 

He is a Swiss army knife of a cyclist: he can time trial with the best, win the toughest of mountain stages and sweep up bonus seconds on seemingly innocuous uphill finishes. With the right selection of teammates behind him, Roglič will be a force to be reckoned with this summer and I believe he could well go all the way for his new team. 

Lizzie Deignan will win one of the Monuments - Michelle Arthurs-Brennan 

Lizzie Deignan didn’t win a race in 2023. Considering she welcomed her son in September 2022, I would suggest that anyone who finds her lack of snap in the year that followed surprising perhaps doesn’t have the greatest understanding of what’s involved in growing a baby, birthing that baby, and going on to be a parent (in her case, of two). 

That’s not to say that some riders can’t return to their best in a short space of time, but a quiet year and a fight back to full fitness is certainly understandable. Family chicken-pox and Covid probably didn’t help, either. 

Whilst Deignan did win the Women’s Tour overall in 2019 (the year after her daughter arrived, in September 2018), her next best result was seventh at Liège–Bastogne–Liège. A year later, in 2020, Deignan won Liège, and Paris-Roubaix the year after that. 

We’ve seen the Lidl-Trek rider return to the top step of the podium, and I believe we’ll see that again, given time. There were flashes of the former World Champion’s previous dominance at the likes of the Glasgow road race; Deignan eventually settled for sixth, but only after riding an attacking race and joining a late breakaway. 

Speaking at a Lidl-Trek training camp, the 35-year-old said: “I just need to win again. Last season was my first season where I didn't have a victory. And I would like to reverse that trend. I know I can. I think a strong winter behind me is all I needed.”

Deignan already has wins at Flanders, Liège and Paris-Roubaix - the three races of the five monuments in cycling which have women’s events. The Yorkshirewoman has won all three in the past, Flanders being the most distant (in 2016), so I’ll stick my neck out and put my bets on her targeting the race at the end of March for her first win of 2024. 

Soudal Quick-Step will have another Classics season to forget - Adam Becket

Since its inception, Soudal Quick-Step, in all its iterations, have dominated the Classics, winning eight of 21 editions of the Tour of Flanders. Out of the 21 times Quick-Step have raced Dwars door Vlaanderen, the team has only finished outside of the top 10 twice.

However, 2023 was the first time since 2013 that the Belgian team did not win any race that could ostensibly be called a Classic, or a semi-Classic, or a cobbled Monument. This trend of underperformance will not change this year, or it is unlikely to, anyway.

The team synonymous with March and April's one-day races is no longer built to challenge at the Classics, that's the truth, it is a Grand Tour machine for Remco Evenepoel, who Patrick Lefevere hopes will be the future of Belgian cycling and the team.

Many of its fans remain wedded to the cobbles of Flanders and northern France, though, as does Lefevere, so it might be another tough season of adjustment for the squad and those on its roadside. 

This isn't to say the likes of Yves Lampaert, or Kasper Asgreen are bad riders, they just haven't looked capable of matching Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel in recent years. The team does not have one of those talents who are almost nailed on to win a Monument, even if they do have one who is capable of winning a Grand Tour.

Wout van Aert will win Paris-Roubaix - Tom Thewlis

If it wasn’t for a last minute puncture in the closing stages of the race, Wout van Aert may well have been able to mount more of a challenge at last year’s Paris-Roubaix, and could have pushed Mathieu van der Poel for the victory in the hallowed velodrome. 

Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I really believe the race would have been closer last year were it not for that late incident on the cobbletones. 

Van Aert is a former Monument winner, but the Belgian and his Visma-Lease a Bike team have long sought after a potential Roubaix or Tour of Flanders victory. With that in mind, Van Aert’s cyclo-cross schedule this winter was very reduced as he builds form to enable him to hit the ground running at the Spring Classics this year. 

It seems that his coaches are targeting a repeat of the first few weeks of the 2022 road season. Van Aert arrived mentally and physically fresh at Opening Weekend two years ago and that resulted in him soloing to an epic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad victory. 

The Belgian has just one cyclo-cross race left on his programme this winter as this year’s opening weekend draws near. 

"Last year, I found it mentally difficult to focus on the cyclo-cross season and then move on to the spring," said Van Aert previously on team. "[This year] I didn't want to leave anything to chance with the Spring Classics."

For a rider of his talents and physical capabilities, it feels like it's only a matter of time before Van Aert lands one of his most coveted prizes. I think his decision to reduce his cross programme this winter will pay off and he will take home the Roubaix title in April. 

At the back end of last year, there was much to think about over the potential mega-merger between two of the biggest teams in professional cycling.

Were major national and international brands now looking at the sport and turning their noses up at investing? That was one of several things to consider when it looked like Soudal-Visma could become a reality. 

However, with Red Bull, the most popular energy drink brand in the world, seemingly set to take a 51% controlling stake in Bora-Hansgrohe, that question might largely be answered. The company’s big move to become further involved with the German WorldTour team is the logical next step for its journey further into the sport and has seemingly been on the cards for some time. More pertinently, though, cycling isn’t dead as an investment project just yet. 

Ralph Denk’s squad has long had links with Red Bull with the brand sponsoring the team’s junior scouting programme - Red Bull Junior Brothers - as of last year. Bora rider Anton Palzer is also individually sponsored by the company and wears a Red Bull branded helmet as a result. 

Speculation mounted that the firm was becoming even further involved in Denk’s team when Bora completed the signing of Primož Roglič last October, as the Slovenian had been spotted at the Red Bull Performance Centre in Salzburg during contract negotiations. Reports that Red Bull had largely funded the team’s acquisition of the star were vehemently rejected by Denk. 

“We have no budget increase. It’s not that a new sponsor arrives. We paid this with our money,” Denk said at the time, but the news this week suggests that budget increase might be coming,

"Red Bull is planning to expand its involvement in road cycling and is aiming for a partnership with Bora-Hansgrohe," the team said this week. “Red Bull strives to complement the team's portfolio of existing long-term main sponsors, who will remain on a long-term basis.”

Levelling up competition

Of course, we don’t yet know exactly how much extra funding Bora will get from this deal, but it seems like Bora could join the elite group of super-teams.

Once Red Bull’s move is formalised we could then find ourselves with a squad, which within a few years, is capable of rivalling Visma-Lease A Bike and UAE Team Emirates. 

The German team will line up at the Tour de France next July as genuine contenders, thanks to Roglič, as opposed to a sideshow in the Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel battle. 

According to Rolf Aldag - head sports director at Bora - bringing in last year’s Giro d’Italia winner has forced the team to recalibrate its goals for next season. Speaking on The Cycling Podcast, Aldag reiterated that Roglič’s presence now means that it’s simply all in for the Tour in 2024 with Roglič leading the charge. 

However, the potential investment from Red Bull could mean that the team suddenly finds itself with the resources and genuine capability to challenge on all fronts, all year round, in a similar fashion to Jumbo-Visma last year. Increased finances means the ability to then attract riders capable of making that a reality in the future.

Red Bull like a long term project, they aren’t just after instant success, as their investment in other sports has shown. The company is behind the current most successful Formula 1 team, but that success took time. 

The Red Bull team made its F1 debut in 2005, but did not win its first world championship until 2010 when Sebastian Vettel came on board. Major success took five years but Vettel went on to win four titles in a row for Red Bull proving that success is largely not achieved overnight. Their projects in football were similar long-term projects.

Red Bull’s takeover at Bora could also mean that cycling becomes another weapon in its world class marketability set up, which would inevitably increase the sports appeal to new fans. This was touched upon by former pro Tom Danielson on X. 

Danielson said: “Red Bull will not just level performance, but they will grow the interest in the sport globally. 

“As marketing powerhouses they will advance the sport’s appeal to new viewers by making it relatable and accessible. For current fans they will creatively bring them closer to their heroes.” 

Giving road cycling wings

Red Bull could help provide increased eyes on professional road cycling, thanks to the clever marketing it does with its sports and athletes.

The Austrian brand has a long history of involvement in mountain biking through sponsorship of the likes of Tom Pidcock and Evie Richards. The company is also the headline sponsor of the Red Bull Rampage event. The only platform it has in road cycling is through its sponsorship of Wout van Aert and Anton Palzer, with the collaboration with the former proving very successful.

Nearly all of the brand’s international marketing is done through sports projects, especially extreme ones, and road cycling could join that portfolio on a much larger scale. 

Ultimately the arrival of Red Bull in road cycling is a good thing. Not only will it increase elite competition and balance it out at the top end of proceedings, but it could also draw in and inspire new people to cycling. I hope, anyway.

Primož Roglič has officially signed for Bora-Hansgrohe, and will join the German team from Jumbo-Visma at the end of the current season.

Bora boss Ralph Denk confirmed that the team had completed a move for the 33-year-old in a media briefing call on Friday morning. It was announced last weekend that the Slovenian was leaving his current team.

Denk said: “It is after the departure of Peter Sagan, the next milestone for us.

"He's one of the best riders in the world. He won, more or less every race of the 2023 season that he rode. We're very much looking forward to this. I'm also proud that Primož took the decision to sign with us.

"I think as well as a big boost for our whole team, for the riders, for the staff. In all the meetings that I had with him, he inspired."

Denk confirmed that a big part of the agreement with the Slovenian was the opportunity for him to lead the line at next year’s Tour de France.

“My personal goal is for us to win the Tour, it's a dream for me,” Denk added. “This was the chance to take one of the biggest contenders. We are realistic, he's not the only contender. So we need luck, we need a super strong team and an outstanding performance from Primož Roglič.

"But it's already a nice feeling for me for the whole team, to be a contender, a real contender."

Denk added: “The feeling I got these last few days is that he's really a personality, he can inspire our team and his professional attitude is really, in my opinion, outstanding. I'm super happy to have him.” 

Salzburg beer garden meeting

Denk explained to the media that his relationship with his new signing goes back almost eight years to when Roglič made his first steps into professional cycling. The duo previously met in a beer garden in Salzburg.

“It was not just a meeting, we placed an offer as well, eight years ago. And yesterday, in my office, I found this offer again. So it's a really nice story,” he said.

When asked what was different this time for them to be able to agree on a deal, Denk joked: “It's a bigger offer [this time] and I can tell you, if you make a zero, again the number is not enough."

“My main argument was that we believed in him. I showed that in my meeting eight years ago,” he added. “No one in our cycling cosmos was recognising Primož Roglič at that time, but I did it already. We still believe in him and that was the key factor for him to sign with us."

He added: “We have the same philosophy and we are not so far away from Slovenia here in south Germany where we are based. All those small parts gave a bigger picture, and I think that’s the reason he decided to sign with us.”

Vuelta chaos fuelled transfer

Denk told the press that he first realised there was another chance to sign Roglič during the recent Vuelta a España.

During the Spanish Grand Tour the Slovenian was forced to put his own ambitions to one side to give his Jumbo-Visma teammate Sepp Kuss the opportunity to land his first major GC victory. Roglič won the Vuelta three times previously, and is the reigning Giro d'Italia champion.

Denk explained that the news that Jumbo are reportedly set to merge with Soudal Quick-Step further increased the chance of sealing the deal.

“I listened to interviews with Primož and I could tell he was not really happy anymore... I asked him, he was open to talking and from the Vuelta on things went quite quickly and we achieved the final signature,” Denk said.

Transfer funded without the help of Red Bull

In recent weeks there were reports that energy drink giants Red Bull were largely funding the move for the four time Grand Tour winner.

Bora have a longstanding partnership with Red Bull which enabled Anton Palzer, a former ski-mountaineer to make the jump to professional cycling. 

Denk denied the reports that Red Bull funded the deal and insisted that the team funded the transfer by themselves.

"We had some money in the bank and that money we used for this deal,” he said. “We have no budget increase. It’s not that a new sponsor arrives. We paid this with our money, with what we put aside the last years for this kind of moment when the opportunity arrived to sign a really big rider.”

British UCI Continental team Saint Piran have made a plea to Primož Roglič to join their squad for 2024, promising the Slovenian “as much Tribute and Rattler” as he can drink and stunning Cornish scenery. 

The 33-year-old, who rides for Jumbo-Visma, is currently the subject of mass speculation after he announced he will leave the Dutch team at the end of the season. 

Among the teams thought to be vying for Roglič's signature are Ineos Grenadiers and Bora-Hansgrohe. Now, Cornish-based outfit Saint Piran have made an offer. 

In a statement titled ‘A message to dear Primož’, the team wrote: “We all go through periods of change in our lives, when we have to make decisions. We feel for you. So let us make your life a little easier. Saint Piran is the team for you!

“You obviously have an eye for a kit, was yellow and black,” the team continued. “What about black - just simple black, it’s a cracking kit, no loud logos or garish colours. 

"Imagine your holidays, Cornish beaches, as much Tribute and Rattler as you can drink and saffron buns.” 

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Saint Piran manager Ricci Pascoe confirmed he discussed the potential transfer with team leader Alex Richardson, who “gracefully agreed” to surrender his role to Roglic. “[He added] that, ‘Roglic isn’t as cool-looking as me, but I will give up my space for him’,” Pascoe said. 

As for the free alcohol, Pascoe explained he understands the three-time Vuelta a España winner’s salary is likely to be around £2.5 million per year, which is “quite a lot of beer”. 

“However, we have 6% Rattler, which normally trips up any seasoned pro,” he said of the Cornish cider. “We can top trump marginal gains theory.”

Alcohol-fuelled training would bring a marked change to Roglič's current approach. At this year’s Tour de France, Jumbo-Visma boss Richard Plugge described alcohol as “poison”, and criticised “a French team” - understood to be Groupama-FDJ - for toasting beers at their hotel during the race.

Saint Piran’s plea to Roglič is not the first time the team has reached out to an accomplished WorldTour pro. 

Last year, Pascoe made a pitch to Mark Cavendish, saying he would welcome the sprinter with “open arms” following the collapse of the B&B Hôtels-KTM project. Cavendish ended up signing for Astana Qazaqstan instead.  

Brian Holm, the former Soudal Quick-Step sports director, believes that Primož Roglič and Rod Ellingworth would be a potential match made in heaven at Ineos Grenadiers next year. 

Prior to winning the Giro dell'Emilia on Saturday afternoon, Roglič confirmed that he will leave Jumbo-Visma at the end of the current season in order to pursue a new challenge elsewhere.

Holm told Cycling Weekly that he sees the 33-year-old Slovenian being the perfect fit for a team like Ineos who are led, according to Holm, by one of the “smartest men in cycling” in deputy principal Ellingworth.

“Of course, I mean I would like to see him at Ineos,” Holm said. "They're a good team, with good habits and a solid structure.

“I love Rod Ellingworth. For me, Rod is one of the smartest men in cycling that I've met. So for sure they need somebody now like Primož, because when you look at the roster now, I'm falling out of my chair, and I say to myself 'wow, it's going to be tough for them.'"

“For sure it's a good team, but it's not the Ineos or the Sky team from eight years ago,” he added. “[Tom] Pidcock of course is a legend. For me, I think he's in the same league as guys like Van der Poel, Van Aert, Pogacar, Vingegaard. He's so likeable to watch, I just love that kid and to see him ride. Although of course, he can't carry the whole heritage of the great Sky team or Ineos alone.”

Around the time of the recent Vuelta a España there were reports linking Roglič with a potential move to Lidl-Trek. Other WorldTour teams were also understood to be interested in a move for the 33-year-old.

Despite his team’s attempts to play it down, Roglič being forced to put his own goals to one side in order to allow teammate Sepp Kuss the chance to win the Vuelta - his first Grand Tour victory -  only fuelled discussion that he was unhappy and reports that he could potentially leave Jumbo this summer.  

After eight years, we now know that his departure from the Dutch squad is imminent.

A raft of different major WorldTour teams have been linked with Roglič but according to a report from GCN, Bora-Hansgrohe and Ineos are the two most likely to secure the 2023 Giro d’Italia champion’s signature.

Ineos have notably been without a serious Grand Tour contender in recent years. Geraint Thomas finished third at the 2022 Tour de France, and narrowly missed out on Giro victory this May but the team has lacked a rider capable of matching the Welshman’s performances in recent times.

Egan Bernal won the Tour in 2019 before taking Giro victory two years later. However, the Colombian rider has understandably struggled for form after returning from a terrible training crash in early 2022.

Holm sees Roglič as the rider to reinstate Ineos at the top table in professional cycling, and to help them land further Grand Tour titles in the years ahead.

Primož Roglič has confirmed that he is to leave Jumbo-Visma at the end of the season, giving the news to reporters at the start of the Giro dell’Emilia on Saturday.

However, the reigning Giro d'Italia champion and three-time Vuelta a España winner said that he would not be revealing his destination until his season was over.

“I can just definitely confirm that I will leave the team, but we want to tell all the details to where after the races that I do,” the Jumbo-Visma rider said. “So yes, first I’m here to race. I’ll be focused here and then we’ll do the next moves.”

The Slovenian has a contract that runs until the end of 2024, but speculation over his future has ramped up in recent days following reports of a proposed merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step.

Teams that the 33-year-old has been linked with include Ineos Grenadiers, Lidl-Trek, Bora-Hansgrohe, Bahrain Victorious, Israel-Premier Tech and Movistar. Any suitor would need to buy Roglič out of his current contract in order to secure his services for 2024.

In a tweet, Jumbo-Visma wrote: "After a memorable ride together, Team Jumbo-Visma grant Primoz Roglic [sic] the opportunity to pursue his ambitions elsewhere in the future. First, all focus will be on the upcoming Italian races. Gremo!"

Roglič took to the start line of the Giro dell'Emilia on Saturday, in what could be his antepenultimate race in yellow in black. He is set to ride Tre Valli Varesine and Il Lombardia over the next week, in the series of late-season Italian one-day races.

The Slovenian joined Jumbo-Visma - which was then LottoNL-Jumbo - in 2016 after coming to cycling late, having previously been a professional ski-jumper. Over the last five years he has established himself as one of the best general classification riders in the world, winning the Vuelta three times, in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and the Giro this year. Along the way, he won ten other WorldTour stage races, including Paris-Nice, Itzulia Basque Country, and the Critérium du Dauphiné.

It is understood that Roglič was interested in a move away from Jumbo in order to secure outright leadership at next year's Tour de France, a race he came so close to winning in 2020, only to be beaten by his compatriot Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates). Jumbo's Tour leader would almost certainly be two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard, so a move away might have been the only option. With Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) possibly coming on board too, Roglič's options might have slimmed.

The news is a volte-face from earlier this month, when Jumbo boss Richard Plugge insisted that Roglič was not going anywhere.

"There’s been no approach. Roglič is our king, as I’ve texted you in the past, and that’s still the case,” Plugge told GCN at the Vuelta a España.

"He has won every GC race he’s started this year apart from this one and he has won 15 races this year. Why would I consider letting him go?

Jumbo-Visma is in talks with Patrick Lefevere’s Soudal Quick-Step team about forming a potential merger of the two WorldTour giants as soon as 2024, according to a special report from Wielerflits, released on Sunday.

According to Wielerflits, Jumbo-Visma’s managing director Richard Plugge would become the CEO of the new squad, Merijn Zeeman would become new head coach, and Patrick Lefevere would become a member of the new teams supervisory board.

Any potential deal between the two men's teams could see Remco Evenepoel, Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard, and this year’s Giro d'Italia winner Primož Roglič become teammates.

Other riders on the joint roster would include the likes of Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe.

The report states that initial talks between the two teams are believed to have begun last summer and that Jumbo-Visma top brass approached Zdenek Bakala - the Soudal Quick-Step owner - which led to a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

As well as this, the report also suggests that the proposed merger was supported by the title sponsors from both teams, Soudal and Visma.

Consequently if the merger between the two is eventually confirmed, it’s likely that the project would be registered with the UCI as either Soudal-Visma or Visma -Soudal. 

Earlier this summer, Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo confirmed that its co-title sponsorship of Jumbo-Visma was set to end after the 2024 season if not earlier. Richard Plugge has been working to find a replacement major international sponsor for his team.

The Dutch team was linked to the Saudi Arabian Neom development project, however, the report was described as “fake news” by a source speaking to Cyclingnews.

It is unknown how a potential merger would affect the riders and other staff on both teams, particularly those with lengthy contracts. Both squads currently have 29 riders each contracted to their men’s teams, and the maximum number of riders on a team is 30. How it would affect bike, tech and gear sponsors is also unknown.

Riders like Matteo Jorgenson and Ben Tulett have already signed deals to join Jumbo next season, while Mikel Landa and Luke Lamperti are among those who have been announced as moving to Quick-Step for 2024.

Important questions remain regarding the future of the two team’s women’s squads if a merger were to happen. Jumbo-Vimsa is currently part of the Women’s WorldTour and is led by Dutch superstar Marianne Vos, while AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step currently has a Continental licence, but has applied to join the WorldTour for 2024.

When questioned on the subject by Cyclingnews, a representative of Jumbo-Visma said: "I don’t expect much is going to happen with our women’s team. For the rest, we never comment on rumours."

Cycling Weekly approached both Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step for comment in relation to this story.

Richard Plugge has said that the day Jumbo-Visma were notified of German rider Michel Hessman’s positive anti-doping test was a ‘black day’ for the team.

Hessmann was suspended by the Dutch squad in mid-August after an anti-doping test conducted in June came back positive. The test revealed the presence of diuretics in Hessman’s system.  Jumbo-Visma immediately made the 22-year-old inactive until further details were known.

In his latest column in Wielerflits’ Ride magazine, Plugge went into further detail about the day Jumbo received the news.

He said: “Wednesday, August 16, 2023 was a black day for our team. For the first time in ten years, we received the message that a rider from our team, Michel Hessmann, had a positive doping test. We had to look in the mirror ourselves, are we doing everything right?

“Everyone involved in and with our organisation must be aware of everything. Germany has a doping law, so the public prosecutor's office is automatically involved. Criminal law has the presumption of innocence, while disciplinary law reasons the other way around. It is up to the athlete to prove that he has done nothing wrong.

“If the test is carried out properly, there are two possibilities, either it is conscious, or it is contamination from a supplement or other medicine.”

Plugge also elaborated on the way in which the Dutch team work to avoid potential contamination in any products they use.

“It is mandatory within our team to only use supplements and medicines that have been batch checked for doping substances, to minimise the risk of contamination. Many products contain remnants of other products,” he added.

“In short, an athlete cannot simply take a supplement, drug or energy drink without knowing whether it has been tested beforehand. There can be a (in or out-of-competition) doping control 365 days a year, the athlete must be sharp every day.

"That is part of cycling policy. Riders (the multiple winners or leader jersey wearers) are checked between thirty and 150 times per year. That is good and should remain that way. We stand for fair sport in which talents cross swords on equal grounds.”

'We understand the scepticism'

The Hessmann positive came shortly before Jumbo-Visma completed a phenomenal clean sweep of the Vuelta a España podium.

American Sepp Kuss won the race overall, Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard took second and Giro d’Italia winner Primož Roglič finished third. 

After the race all three riders acknowledged the scepticism that inevitably had started to creep in but insisted that the team’s incredible season is believable.

Two-time Tour winner Vingegaard said: "For sure we understand the scepticism that there is but people also need to know how much we sacrifice for everything and how much we do everything in detail.

"We go into every detail to be as good as possible. I think that especially in this team, we do everything perfectly and it makes such a big difference, and I don’t think that people realise how much of a difference it makes.

"I think it’s always good to be sceptical, especially when a team is doing well, as long as it’s not allegations. "As long as we speak about it, because of what happened 20 years ago, then I think that will prevent it happening again.

"I’m 100 percent sure that my two colleagues are not taking anything as well as myself."

Alpecin-Deceuninck could have a selection headache for next year’s Tour de France 

With Kaden Groves’ success, Alpecin-Deceuninck may well have found themselves with a potential selection headache in the build up to next year’s Tour de France.

Groves dominated the points classification in Spain, finishing with 315 points in total which was accumulated via three stage victories and various breakaway efforts. Granted, the field of sprinters he faced wasn’t necessarily the best, but you can only beat what’s in front of you, and the Australian rider comfortably did that.

Besides, away from the Vuelta, Groves has already shown this season that he’s capable of beating a higher level of opposition. Back in May, the 24-year-old out sprinted Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Mark Cavendish to win stage five of the Giro d’Italia in Salerno.

Alpecin currently have arguably the best sprinter in the world on their books, Jasper Philipsen. However, if Groves starts next season in decent form then he could put himself in with a shout of making the Belgian squad’s line up for the French Grand Tour.

Sepp Kuss proves he's the real deal

It’s been evident for some time that Sepp Kuss is undoubtedly one of the very best climbers in the world. However, few would ever have imagined him climbing to the Grand Tour winning heights that he’s now reached whilst in the colours of Jumbo-Visma.

For so long, Kuss has been nothing more than just a well oiled cog in the Jumbo winning machine - almost ever present in their Grand Tour success in recent years - but his identity as a bike rider finally shifted on the roads of Spain this summer. 

The Dutch squad would authoritatively stamp their dominance on yet another Grand Tour but this time it was a different man in the race leader’s jersey. It wasn’t the taciturn Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard or the robotic Primož Roglič, it was the smiling American from Durango, Colorado who finally got his moment in the sun.

After Kuss found himself in the Maillot Rojo, some claimed that Jumbo’s willingness to work for him as their leader was the team “gifting” one of their most loyal servants the least sought after Grand Tour in the calendar, rewarding him for his many years of service in the process.

Meanwhile after the chaos on the Angliru, others claimed it was the Dutch squad reckoning on the PR disaster they would have faced if the likeable American hadn’t been given the level of support many felt he deserved from his teammates.

Although you could make the case that Kuss is the type of rider who would have already found himself in this sort of position if he’d been employed elsewhere in the WorldTour peloton.

Kuss has finished well inside the top 20 in seven of the Grand Tour’s that he’s ridden in the past four years. In the right team, with the right riders around him, the 29-year-old could easily have already made the step up that he’s now achieved.  

Remco Evenepoel demonstrated a whole new level of mental strength  

As we all know, cycling can be such a brutal, cruel and unforgiving sport. Once the mountains arrive in any Grand Tour situation there is simply nowhere to hide, and if your legs aren’t in the fight, any goals you may have had will evaporate before your eyes.

That’s the exact situation Remco Evenepoel found himself in on stage 13 when his legs gave up on him on the slopes of the Col du Tourmalet. The Belgian former World Champion lost stacks of time on that fateful Friday afternoon which forced him out of contention for overall victory.

At that point, it would have been so easy to just give up, pack your bags and withdraw from the race, but that’s simply not in Evenepoel’s nature. The 23-year-old Belgian is stronger and wiser than you would expect for someone so young.

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Evenepoel woke up the next morning and steamrollered all opposition to win stage 14 in Larra-Belagua. And he wasn’t done there. Evenepoel won again on stage 18 at La Cruz de Linares which also sealed his victory in the races’ mountains classification.

Evenepoel may not have arrived in Madrid on Sunday in the general classification position he’d have liked but the Belgian ended the race with three stage wins in total to his name and the polka-dot jersey on his shoulders.

That’s bouncebackability right there. 

There’s hope for Spanish cycling yet  

Jumbo may have pulled off a clean sweep of their home Grand Tour podium but there’s very much hope for Spanish cycling yet. 

21-year-old Juan Ayuso won his first ever Grand Tour classification, taking home the white jersey as the best young rider, and finished fourth overall. If it wasn’t for Jumbo’s strength in depth at this year’s race, it’s likely Ayuso would have finished on the podium.

The UAE Team Emirates rider appears to be making steady progress in his development as a racer, and all the signs point to him becoming one of the very best.

Behind Ayuso, Mikel Landa of Bahrain Victorious and Enric Mas (Movistar) finished fifth and sixth respectively. Landa is still yet to deliver on the potential he displayed in his early days, and will switch to a domestique role at Soudal Quick-Step next season but Mas could yet come good.

The 28-year-old has consistently shown himself to be one of the best climbers in the sport yet strangely lacks the results that his potential has deserved across the years. The Movistar rider has only ever won a single Grand Tour stage, which came at the 2018 Vuelta, but has finished runner up in his home Grand Tour on three occasions.

With Mas it feels like if luck were to go his way just once in the seasons to come, he could finally then reach the top step that he has long aimed for. 

Ineos still lack a rider for future GC challenges

If you had sat and studied the GC on Sunday once the race had wrapped up in Madrid, one thing was staggeringly clear. Ineos Grenadiers still lack a rider capable of seriously challenging Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar’s dominance in a Grand Tour setting in the years to come.

Not a single rider from the British team finished inside the top ten.

Yes, Geraint Thomas very nearly won the Giro in May, although the 37-year-old Welshman can’t continue at the top level of the sport indefinitely. Thomas has said as much himself in recent months.

Carlos Rodríguez feels like their best hope currently on the team. The Spaniard finished fifth and won a stage at this year’s Tour de France, but still needs further development before he can mount a serious challenge.

The team have also recently lost a handful of key riders, including Tao Geoghegan Hart to Lidl-Trek, which will leave them short in both the GC challengers and domestique departments. There were whispers of a big money move for Remco Evenepoel throughout the summer, although that appears to have now stalled.

The once dominant team ends the season yet again without a Grand Tour victory. Ineos have some serious work to do if they are to return to the heights of their former identity as Team Sky in the years ahead. 

Jumbo-Visma have just became the first team to complete a Grand Tour grand slam, but could they be about to lose one of their lynchpins? 

Three-time Vuelta a España winner and current Giro d'Italia champion Primož Roglič is at the centre of rumours linking him with a move away from Jumbo-Visma, the team he has competed for since 2016.

The reason given is that Roglič, soon to be 34, wants to be guaranteed a shot at winning the Tour de France in 2024, and with Jonas Vingegaard the reigning two-time champion, he would not be afforded full support at Jumbo.

Ineos Grenadiers previously expressed an interested in the Slovenian in 2022, and rumours in recent week have linked him with the British team, Movistar and the peloton's new money bags, Lidl-Trek.

It was reported by Escape Collective at the end of August that Lidl-Trek had enquired about Roglič's signature, but that drew a sharp response from Jumbo-Visma who alleged that the story was "complete bulls**t".

The team's boss Richard Plugge informed GCN at the Vuelta a España that no rivals had called with an offer for Roglič, and nor would they countenance any such move.

"Roglič is our king and the king is difficult to let go.” Plugge said. "He has won every GC race he’s started this year apart from this one and he has won 15 races this year. Why would I consider letting him go?

"That’s a really difficult discussion but if teams are interested and there are rumours then maybe one day he is knocking on my door, but not yet. 

"If you compare him to football, he’s a goalscorer who scores the most goals for our team, together with Jonas [Vingegaard]. If he leaves then we miss a lot of goals and we have to find someone who scores more goals and there’s not many people who can do that."

Sources close to Roglič also played down the possibility of him leaving when speaking with Cycling Weekly, but the himself hasn't exactly put the topic to bed.

Asked in the podium press conference following stage 20 of the Vuelta, Roglič responded to a question about his future by declaring that Jumbo was the best team in the world. 

In an interview with GCN and Flobikes, he said that the rumours "are good things for me. It means someone wants me and that means I'm good." He responded "no, not really" when asked if people should read anything into the ongoing stories.

The riders of the Giro d’Italia will enjoy a much needed second rest day today after another week of gruelling racing in horrendous weather conditions.

Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) was the lucky one, winning stage 15 in Bergamo after a day of sunshine on the roads of Lombardy. Many of the stage winners so far at this year’s Giro have crossed the line soaked through as the weather has impacted much of the race so far.

As he celebrated his first ever Grand Tour stage win, the American had the sun on his back as it poked through the walls of the old town in Bergamo, capping arguably the best day of action yet at this year’s corsa rosa.

Once the rest day is out of the way, the peloton face a classic third week of Giro action, with multiple days featuring more than 5,000 metres of elevation in the heart of the Dolomites. So far, the battle for overall victory has been relatively subdued. However, by the time the summit finish of Tre Cime di Lavaredo arrives that could well be a different story.  

Here are our five takeaways from the second week of action at the 106th edition of the Italian grand Tour.  

Ineos are willing to play the long game

After holding the race lead due to Remco Evenepoel’s abandonment due to Covid, Ineos Grenadiers and Geraint Thomas appeared to be firmly in the driving seat at this year’s race.

In the past seven days the British squad have subsequently lost Filippo Ganna and Tao Geoghegan Hart to illness and injury respectively which resulted in ceding the maglia rosa to France’s Bruno Armirail (Groupama FDJ) on Saturday.

However, Ineos are still very much in control of the race and seem willing to play the long game. Geraint Thomas sits second overall, one minute and eight seconds behind Armirail, with Primož Roglič just two seconds behind him.

As a result, Ineos and the Welshman can afford to ride conservatively once more in the final week and wait for Roglič to make the first move as the action moves into the mountains.  

Ben Healy means business

After his stunning stage win just over one week ago in Fossombrone, EF Education-EasyPost’s Ben Healy was back for more on the roads of Lombardy and went painstakingly close to a second stage win in Bergamo on Sunday.

The Irishman had a sensational spring campaign, landing second in the Amstel-Gold race and Brabantse Pijl and narrowly missed out on the podium at  Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Healy then took his scintillating form into week one of the Giro, taking his career best win at the end of week one.

Just a handful of days later, the EF rider was at it again in the breakaway and if it wasn't for Brandon McNulty’s unrelenting will to win, would have almost certainly added a second Giro stage win to his palmarès. Stage 15 bore many similarities to the final monument of the season, Il Lombardia.

After thriving in the hills around Bergamo on Sunday, Healy could be a serious challenger for the race of the falling leaves this Autumn.  

Cavendish is moving into race-winning form 

On Monday, Mark Cavendish announced that he will retire from professional cycling at the end of the current season and that this year’s Giro would be his last.

The Manxman has 16 Giro stage victories to his name and has shown throughout the race that he’s been gradually moving into race winning form once more. Cavendish finished fourth behind Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Kaden Groves in Salerno on stage four. He followed that up with third on stage 11 in Tortona behind Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates).

One of the final opportunities for the sprinters at this year’s Giro comes on stage 17 to Caorle.

If his performances so far are anything to go by, then expect to see Cavendish in the thick of the action once more as he looks to grab one more stage victory at the Italian Grand Tour before hanging up his wheels.  

Should he grab a 17th Giro stage win, it will be a much needed confidence boost ahead of the Tour de France this July where Cavendish will attempt to win a record breaking 35th stage.

He is currently tied on 34 wins with Eddy Merckx.

Covid continues to ravage bike races

Over the course of the past two weeks there have been extensive numbers of riders withdrawing from the Giro due to Covid as well as other illnesses.

Covid in particular has had a large role to play in the 106th edition of the Italian Grand Tour, with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) being the most high profile rider at the race to contract the virus. Monday’s rest day passed without further announcements that more riders had withdrawn due to the illness, but the impact it has had has still been notable.

Speaking to the media on Monday afternoon, Geraint Thomas dismissed suggestions riders were “afraid” of the virus and stressed that his team were doing all they could to make sure it stays away in the closing stages.

“Afraid might be a little strong, but it’s something that we’re certainly aware of,” he said. “We’re trying to do our best to stay away from it and do all the little things, even though they might seem insignificant… It's a shame that guys have gone out of the race because of that. Hopefully no one else does.” 

Mountains form amongst GC favourites is still a mystery

By the time the final week arrives in any Grand Tour, we often have a pretty solid idea of the pecking order amongst the favourites for overall victory.

At least year's Giro there was the early shakeup on the stage finishing on the Blockhaus which was won by eventual winner Jai Hindley. Unfortunately horrendous weather when the race has reached altitude this year has made for a stalemate in the fight for the pink jersey.

Stage seven to Gran Sasso d’Italia presented itself as a perfect chance for that to develop. However, a headwind on the final climb put to bed any chance of a battle developing between the favourites.

With the GC fight evenly poised going into a week containing three summit finishes and a mountain time trial, those hoping to make their move for the maglia rosa will be hoping the weather stays away on Tuesday’s stage to Monte Bondone as well as in the heart of the Dolomites later in the week.

Just a handful of seconds separate Geraint Thomas, Primož Roglič and João Almeida. Due to the current situation, expect fireworks in the coming days from the aforementioned trio as they look to do all they can for overall victory before the final weekend arrives.  

The Giro d’Italia gets underway this Saturday in Pescara, a city in the Abruzzo region of Italy, with some of the world's best cyclists itching to get their hands on the race's pink jersey.

While it’s often an unpredictable and dramatic affair, the Italian Grand Tour always guarantees an action packed three weeks of racing with some of the biggest names set to take part.

One of the biggest pulls of this year’s Corsa Rosa is the 70 plus kilometres of time trialling on offer, which is spread over three stages, including a terrifying mountain time trial to Monte Lussari.

Last year’s top three: Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost, formerly of Ineos Grenadiers, and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) won’t be present. However the competition will still be fierce in the fight for the Maglia Rosa, with some other faces.

As well as the two outright favourites, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), here are several other riders worth paying close attention to once the race gets underway and the battle for overall victory gets going.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)

The reigning road world champion comes into the Giro in sensational form.

Two weeks ago, Evenepoel won a second Liège–Bastogne–Liège at a canter, and looked absolutely imperious as he added yet another huge result to his palmares. After the 2021 edition of the Italian Grand Tour, won by Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), which he rode but abandoned, Evenepoel has unfinished business with the Giro and will be looking to right a few wrongs in Italy.

With the experience gained in the last 18 months, which included a Vuelta a España and World Championship victory, the Belgian is rightly one of the outright favourites, and will fight all the way to Rome for the overall title.

Quick-Step come into the race with a squad stacked full of climbers, similar to when Evenepoel won in Spain. With that in mind, the Belgian team will present formidable opposition to Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers in the tough final week in the Dolomites. 

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) 

After spending weeks at altitude in Tenerife with Evenepoel for company, Roglič has certainly gained an eagle eye view of his opponents strengths and weaknesses ahead of the Grande Partenza in Pescara on Saturday.

The duo were staying in the same hotel on Mount Teide, finalising their individual preparations for a shot at Giro glory.

Over the off season, Roglič had surgery to correct a longstanding shoulder issue, but has hit the ground running earlier this season. The Slovenian won both stage races he started, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya, and showed in the latter that he’s learnt from the Vuelta and now has the measure of his young Belgian rival.

With two intensive stage races ticked off, Jumbo-Visma’s star man recently told Cycling Weekly that he’s more than ready to attempt to add a fourth Grand Tour to his palmares in the coming weeks. 

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers)

The 2018 Tour de France winner comes into the Giro sharing leadership at Ineos with Geoghegan Hart, but still in contention.

Thomas explained at the Tour of the Alps that having plenty of cards to play at the Giro will work in their favour when the going gets tough in some of the latter stages. After crashing out on other occasions, including in 2020 when Geoghegan Hart went onto win, the Welshman has said that he has unfinished business with the Italian Grand Tour.

If he can stay in contention in the opening time trial, Thomas will hope to stick to his rivals like glue over the three weeks and is more than capable of finishing on the podium. Perhaps even the top step if all goes to plan, and Roglič and Evenepoel show weakness.

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates)

UAE Emirates’ João Almeida knows a thing or two about taking the maglia rosa and then keeping it.

Back in 2020, the Portuguese rider took hold of the pink jersey on stage three, and then led the race for the following 14 days. He would eventually finish fourth overall. The 24-year-old is a formidable talent, and while he didn’t finish the Italian Grand Tour last year, he finished sixth in 2021 and is developing a real love affair with the Giro.

So far in 2023, the UAE Emirates rider has been firmly in the mix each time he’s gone up against the likes of Evenepoel and Roglič. Almeida finished second to the Slovenian at Tirreno, and third behind the two Giro favourites at the Volta a Catalunya.

If either of them crack in the high mountains in Italy, Almeida has all the strengths needed to capitalise and potentially even beat them to the top step of the podium in Rome.   

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers)

After a difficult two years blighted by illness and injury, the 2020 Giro winner has bounced back in 2023 with a win at the Volta Valenciana before then winning the general classification at the Tour of the Alps.

The British rider grabbed two stage wins on his way to overall victory in northern Italy and Austria, proving that he’s hit a rich vein of form in perfect timing for the Giro on Saturday.

On paper, Evenepoel, Roglič and arguably Thomas are rightly above Geoghegan Hart due to their time trialling prowess. However, the Londoner is a solid climber and packs a powerful final sprint in any uphill finish.

If Roglič still has Geoghegan Hart on his wheel at the summit of some of the races biggest mountains, then he may find he suddenly has a rider capable of matching him when there are bonus seconds up for grabs in the fight for pink. 

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe)

While last year’s winner Jai Hindley is skipping the defence of his title, his team Bora-Hansgrohe come into the Italian Grand Tour with multiple riders to deploy in the fight for the overall classification.

In recent years, Aleksandr Vlasov has more than proven himself as a solid Grand Tour rider, with fourth and fifth place finishes at the Giro and Tour de France respectively.

The 27-year-old is a respectable climber, and has won tough mountain stages at both the Tour de Suisse and Tour de Romandie, so certainly won’t fear the tough summit finishes facing the riders at this year's Giro.

As well as Vlasov, Lennard Kämna will be another card to play in the mountain stages. With the German fighting his corner in support of a high GC finish, Vlasov certainly won’t hesitate to get up the road when his rivals are there for the taking.

If the right scenario plays out, the 27-year-old is more than capable of recording his best result in a Grand Tour yet. 

Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious)

35-year-old Damiano Caruso may not seem like the most likely candidate for a podium finish in Rome, but the Italian has previously pulled it off, taking third place behind Bernal in 2021. 

Caruso is a solid climber, and has stage wins to his name in all three Grand Tours. While it’s likely he will be utilised as a support rider for Jack Haig, the Italian is capable deputy if the Australian should falter, and won’t shirk away from a fight.

If he finds himself within reach of the podium in the savage final week in the mountains, the Italian will be immensely difficult to shake off in the fight for overall.

HUGH CARTHY (EF Education-EasyPost)

Since his third place finish at the Vuelta in 2020, which included a stage win on the Angliru, EF Education’s Hugh Carthy has floated around the top ten in the Giro without matching his success of the 2020 season.

Carthy finished eighth in 2021 and ninth a year later in the Corsa Rosa, but would need to display a significant upturn in form to hit the podium.

However, earlier this year the British climber kept himself in contention during Tirreno-Adriatico on all of the tougher stages, finishing eighth behind Roglič. He then improved on his form at the Tour of the Alps, finishing second overall behind Geoghegan Hart.

If his recent results mean anything, Carthy could be about to hit form at just the right time. If he can grab a stage win or two in the high mountains, the Lancashire born rider could be a solid outside bet for the podium in Rome. 

To lose two riders due to Covid is misfortune. To lose a backup rider, who replaced one of those original picks, is evidence of a pandemic that never really went away.

On Tuesday, Jumbo-Visma announced that two of its original Giro d'Italia team were to miss the race due to Covid, with Tobias Foss and Robert Gesink being replaced by Jos van Emden and Rohan Dennis.

Two days later, the Dutch team was forced into yet another reshuffle as Van Emden was replaced by Sam Oomen in the lineup for the race, which starts on Saturday. The reason? You have guessed it: Covid.

For three riders to be out in such a short amount of time would be painful for any squad, but for Jumbo, the team of Giro joint-favourite Primož Roglič, it is almost panic stations. Not that the Slovenian himself is particularly ringing the alarm bell.

"At the end we have to be happy with the guys who have made it," Roglič told the press on Thursday. "The first step is to come here, and some more will follow in the next days. For sure, it's not the best, the thing you wish, that these things happen to you, but we will deal with it, we will find solutions. We go with the guys who will be here."

While the rest of the world has largely moved on from the pandemic, with mask wearing and controls largely down to personal choice, Covid has continued to make its mark on cycling, although hopefully we won't have to update the Giro d'Italia 2023 start list again before race day.

Testing and measures differ from team to team now, however, with the UCI's rules lifting the requirement for teams and personnel to provide a health pass, vaccination certificate or negative COVID-19 test before competition before the season.

"We are trying to take care of it already, but Covid is part of it [life] now," Roglič continued. "It's not a big deal. The thing is when you are sick, when athletes are performing on the highest level, you have a problem with it. All we can do is try to take care the best ways we can, with the things that we are doing already. We just hope for the best, huh. 

Jumbo is not the only Giro team affected by the virus. On Thursday, Bahrain-Victorious announced that Gino Mäder had tested positive, with the Swiss rider tweeting: "Most likely not going to announce my goals next year, let's see if Covid still manages to ruin my hopes then. For now, I'll rest and enjoy home.

Trek-Segafredo's Giulio Ciccone and DSM's Henri Vandenabeele are two other casualties from the virus. It will bring back memories of the 2020 edition, where Covid cases caused Mitchelton-Scott and Jumbo-Visma to leave the race entirely.

"You have to take care of yourself, but it's not only from Covid, you could get normal Flu or sickness in general," Ciccone's Trek-Segafredo teammate Mads Pedersen reasoned on Thursday. "I take care of myself, and I do everything not to get sick, and hopefully that's enough to get all the way to Rome."

Roglič's biggest rival at the Giro, Remco Evenepoel, urged everyone within the race bubble to "pay attention and try not to infect each other", two days out from the race beginning.

"For sure I think we will act and handle it a bit like in the Vuelta [a España] again; wear some masks and just pay a bit more attention with, let's say, washing our hands, disinfectant, things like that," the Soudal Quick-Step rider said. 

"It's going to be again three weeks of full focus, and trying to keep the bubble as small as possible. Losing a few riders in the bunch before the race can be a message to everybody, not only riders, but staff members, members from the organisation, also you guys, the press, that everybody needs to be aware that the virus is still around.

"We all have to pay attention and try to not infect each other. So wear your mask if I see you on Saturday!"

For Geraint Thomas, he of 17 Grand Tours to date, it is not a particular concern, especially as "you can't control the uncontrollable". It might help that his team sponsor, Ineos, makes its own antibacterial hand gel.

"[I'm] not particularly concerned, no," the Ineos Grenadier veteran said. "It's kind of the way it is the last couple of years, innit?! Obviously we're super careful in the team and do everything we can but you can't control the uncontrollable. Sometimes it's unavoidable, so it is what it is and it's just life innit. 

"What's the point in stressing about it, man? Just wash your hands, stay away from people and get on with it no?"

Everyone - fans, riders, directeur sportifs, the Giro's organisers, RCS - will be hoping that Covid's impact has already been felt, but prepare for more virus-related action over the next three weeks.

When preparing for a great battle, building togetherness amongst the group you’ll fight alongside is key. If you combine that unity with in depth knowledge of your opponents strengths and weaknesses, suddenly, you might just be invincible when the time comes.

If you’re planning on emerging from a three-week battle around Italy victorious, keeping your opponents close during the build up becomes even more paramount.

However, despite finding himself stuck at altitude on the side of a dormant Spanish volcano with Remco Evenepoel, Primož Roglič says the duo have been keeping their distance as they finalise their individual preparations for a shot at Giro d’Italia glory.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews from Tenerife, Roglič lifted the lid on his encounters with Evenepoel in the hotel lobby on the way to the breakfast buffet.

“In the mornings, and at some dinners we’ve seen each other,” Roglič says. “But on the road we hide from each other, so there’s no competition.”

“We'll see enough of each other over the next three weeks,” the Slovenian adds with a smile.

Volcanoes aren’t typically packed with accommodation, so it would have come as no surprise to Roglič and Jumbo-Visma when they discovered that Evenepoel was staying in the same hotel on Mount Teide. The Belgian was finishing his own training for the Corsa Rosa when he's not busy taking Strava KOMs.

When the evenings have arrived, and both men have returned to the hotel, the dedicated Roglič says neither of them have been tempted by a light hearted table tennis competition to lighten the mood.

“No, no, we focus on training, recovery and then repeat,” he says. “I feel ready. At the altitude camp, we’ve done everything we wanted to do here… we just need to get through the last days before the start and then we are good to go.”
 

NO SURPRISES

Much of Roglič's build up to this year’s Giro has been centred around altitude training in between two stage races. Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya. The Slovenian won both races, proving that his form is there, particularly after beating Evenepoel in the latter in Spain.

More importantly than either win perhaps, Roglič says that his troublesome shoulder injury, operated on during the winter, is firmly in the past.

Back in 2019 before taking on the Giro, Roglič raced the Tour de Romandie along with Tirreno and some other stage races. In Switzerland, Roglič comfortably dispatched Geraint Thomas on his way to the title.

Coming into the Giro this time around, the Slovenian has less race days in the legs, but says it won’t be a disadvantage when the Italian Grand Tour begins. “We will see. I don’t feel like I need more stage races,” he says. “It was more than intensive enough in Catalunya, so now I can have a nice build up again, and then start the Giro.”

While Evenepoel headed to Belgium last weekend to race Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Roglič stayed at altitude and watched on from afar. After learning plenty about the Belgian at last year’s Vuelta a España as well as in Catalunya in March, Roglič has come to expect nothing less than the best from his young rival.

He explains that it came as "no surprise at all" to see the World Champion canter to a second La Doyenne title in style. 

EVERYONE IS SOMEONE

However, as the Giro draws ever closer, the Slovenian warned that if both himself and Evenepoel remain too focused on one another, another rider could capitalise in a similar way to Richard Carapaz in 2019.

Four years ago, the Ecuadorian made the most of the intense battle between Roglič and Vincenzo Nibali, sneaking away to victory in the high mountains before ultimately beating both to the top step of the podium. 

“That’s what I mean. In the end if we’re racing just between us then someone else, or all the rest can take any opportunity,” Roglič adds. “All these things tell you that at the end you need to deserve it, and you have to be the best.”

One of those other riders Roglič mentions could well be one of those in the colours of Ineos Grenadiers.

While the Slovenian and Evenepoel have been shut away at altitude, the British team were busy getting in one final stage race, road testing what’s widely expected to be the core of their Giro line up at the Tour of the Alps.

Former Giro winner Tao Geoghegan Hart took the victory, was Roglič paying close attention?

“If I’m honest I didn’t really watch it or follow it, but I also raced against him [Geoghegan Hart] in Tirreno, and he was super strong already there,” Roglič says. “I don’t need more confirmation... He’s won the Giro, and G [Geraint Thomas] has won the Tour, as well as a lot of other races.”

“Everyone is someone, nobody needs to prove that they can also win the Giro. It will be a big fight, but for me, I'll just focus on myself, do my thing and do my very best, then we’ll see what that means with the result at the end.”

1,000 DIFFERENT OPTIONS IN THE GIRO

One of the many selling points of this year’s edition of the Giro is its huge number of time-trialling kilometres. Spread over three stages, the riders will tackle more than 70 kilometres of racing against the clock, a huge increase on the 26.2 kilometres of time-trialling last year.

Roglič explains that he hasn’t carried out much reconnaissance of the courses himself, with the exception of the final one, a brutal mountain time trial to Monte Lussari, close to the border with Slovenia, which he knows from days gone by.

“Of course I’ve been there, and have been skiing there a lot of times,” he says. “It’s super close to Slovenia.”

“Although we’ve always been going up by gondola, and this time we go down on the bus or with a bike,” he jokes.

Due to its close proximity to his home country, it’s widely expected that hordes of Slovenian cycling fans will line the road side on the penultimate day, looking to catch a glimpse of their homegrown hero in action. Is he hoping for a boost?

“Definitely, already the Giro is the closest race for our country,” he says. “From my experience there’s always a lot of supporters, and I’m looking forward to coming there and doing my very best.”

There will be a lot of racing before he gets to that and we wonder which of the race's many mountain stages he sees as decisive. When asked by Cycling Weekly to handpick what he sees as being a key moment, Roglič points to stage 19 to Tre Cime di Lavaredo.

In 2013, Nibali won in the snow atop the famous mountain in the Dolomites, further padding out his already decisive advantage in the pink jersey of the race leader that year.

“We will have had quite some days already where you have to be there if you want to compete for the best result at the end,” Roglič says. “At the end of the final stages it’s the same, you have to be there. There will definitely be decisive ones with Tre Cime, and then the next day the time trial.”

THE RACE IS BIGGER THAN THE RIDER

In order to get yourself through any stage race, let alone a Grand Tour, being surrounded by the right group of people is essential. That spirit of togetherness and cohesion as a group was touched on by Geoghegan Hart in the wake of his victory in the Alps, and Roglič echoes that same sentiment.

“It’s super important,” he explains. “We want to keep good morale at the front of the team. Any race is super hard, but if you can have a bit of good luck here and there, then it’s a lot easier to go through.”

With that in mind, Jumbo-Visma have included Roglič’s long-standing key lieutenants, Robert Gesink and Sepp Kuss, in their Giro plans.

Roglič already has three Grand Tour victories to his name, all coming at the Vuelta. When asked if he wins the Italian Grand Tour, would that be the pinnacle of where he wants to reach in the sport, Roglič wouldn’t be drawn either way, and explains that he believes the Corsa Rosa is bigger than those that win it outright.

“We’ll answer this one after the Giro,” he says with a smile. “But I mean, it’s a part of it, it’s a process and it’s a part of your goals, your cycling career and life. Win it or not, the Giro moves on.”

After his excellent first stage win in Alpbach, it was rarely in doubt that Tao Geoghegan Hart would win the Tour of the Alps. Ineos Grenadiers, led by the Londoner, dominated proceedings from the word go in order to give Geoghegan Hart his second-ever general classification victory.

Stage five was won by Simon Carr from the breakaway, meaning that Ineos could roll into Brunico unchallenged to savour a resounding win. 

Speaking to the media in his post-race press conference, Geoghegan Hart explained that after allowing himself time tonight to celebrate the win with the team, his and the group's attention would be swiftly turning towards the huge goal of Giro d’Italia victory from tomorrow. 

“Everything is unique, different and special in cycling. To have every victory is a massive honour, but you’re never looking backwards that’s for sure, you have to look forwards,” Geoghegan Hart said. “You savour the moment, but basically after tomorrow it’s time to move on, look forward to the next races and the rest of the season.”

Throughout the week, the Londoner benefited from sterling work from the likes of Geraint Thomas, who could also aim for GC in the Giro. Geoghegan Hart heaped praise on all his teammates, and explained that everything had gone to plan for the group from the beginning.

“It was another solid day out there, and another amazing performance from the team,” he added. “So I’m really happy for all the boys, everyone finished the week in a great place, even better than we started, and that’s a big success along with the victory.”

With victory in the Alps chalked off, Geoghegan Hart will fly home to Andorra for some much needed rest and recuperation, before then returning to Italy for the grande partenza of the Giro on 6 May. As part of his recovery, he’ll enjoy some downtime watching Liège–Bastogne–Liège on the sofa, before turning his attention to the battles ahead. 

Two of the Londoner’s teammates in the Alps, Laurens De Plus and Pavel Sivakov, flew straight to Belgium on Friday evening ready to ride La Doyenne on Sunday.

“I’ll be watching with bated breath, in anticipation of hopefully a memorable race,” Geoghegan Hart said. “I have a lot of history with that race, I was twice on the podium at under 23 level. Probably the most destroyed I’ve ever been as a professional is also at the end of that race. So good luck to everyone who's doing it.”

“We have a super strong team lining up there…they’re really keen for it, so good luck to them as well.”

So far in 2023, Geoghegan Hart has reaped the benefits of a new training programme developed by Dajo Sanders, enjoying a solid run of results as the Giro draws near. Ineos are widely expected to deploy a similar line up at the Italian Grand Tour, enabling them to utilise the togetherness built in recent months in the brutal final week.

“It’s going to be a very big first nine days, and then a huge final week with I think three stages exceeding 5,000 metres,” he explained. “I think it’s important to enter the race fresh, and to take each day as it comes.”

“The winner of the Giro will need to be in top shape in that final week, it’s impossible not to be with how many hard stages you have.”

Any potential winner of the Giro will face a major scrap with Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič, two riders of the highest calibre, with the latter also happening to be bang in form. Geoghegan Hart acknowledged that the duo are the outright favourites, but backed his team to return to Italy and be competitive. 

“Ineos Grenadiers turn up to races to try and win," he said. "All big teams have that same expectation, there’s not only two teams going to the Giro.

“We’ve taken good things from this race, tomorrow we turn the page, and it’s another story to tell in terms of approaching the next goal, which is a very different goal. We’ll take it in our stride, stick together as we have done these past five days, and look forward to what the road ahead holds,” he added.

It had been a long two years for the Ineos rider, blighted by illness and injury. After bouncing back in style, the Londoner explained that he feels he is constantly improving in the hope of continuing his outstanding run of form this season.

“This sport is increasing in level all the time, so I think everyone has to improve or they’ll be left behind. I certainly always feel that I’m learning and getting better, and a big satisfaction this season has been the consistency, it's been a good step forward."

 

Geraint Thomas believes that Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) are certainly beatable at the Giro d’Italia, and that the strength in depth within his Ineos Grenadiers team could give them an edge. 

Roglič enters the race as arguably the outright favourite, particularly after winning both Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya in recent months.

However, Thomas told Cycling Weekly at the Tour of the Alps that with his team impressing in the week-long stage race, anything is possible when the Giro arrives. 

“Yeah for sure, you’ve got to believe you can beat them,” Thomas said. “Obviously they’re by far the strongest favourites with what they’ve done so far this year. But we can go in there confident, and try to do what we can.”

Thomas’ teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart has largely dominated proceedings in the Alps, winning two stages and edging ever closer to overall victory. Thomas had previously been expected to challenge for the general classification at the Giro, although the Welshman was coy when asked about his personal ambitions in May.

“I’m feeling better week-by-week, and it just feels like as the weeks go by, I’m soaking up the benefits from the work I do,” he added. “I think I’ll just go there, try and just get there in the best shape I can and then take things from there.”

With bad weather expected to hit the closing stages in the Alps, Thomas explained it could add an ‘extra dimension’ to the race.

“It's been a great start. Everyone’s been riding well, everyone’s been contributing and morale is high. Although there’s two super hard days to come, especially with the weather.”

Thomas will be one of several cards Ineos have to play at the Giro alongside the likes of Geoghegan Hart, Pavel Sivakov and Thymen Arensman. Geoghegan Hart endured a difficult two years after his Giro victory in 2020, where he suffered the effects of illness amongst other setbacks. 

However, the Londoner has certainly bounced back in the early stages of the 2023 season, and Sivakov told Cycling Weekly that Geoghegan Hart possessed the “strength of champions”. 

“In every sport, that's the strength of champions,” Sivakov said. “You can always bounce back, and yeah he [Geoghegan Hart] has always done that really well. In every sport, but especially cycling, it's really important to be strong mentally.”

The head-to-head battle between Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel at the Volta a Catalunya came to a close on Sunday, with the former securing the title by six seconds. 

The duo were again the main protagonists on stage seven, this time on the streets of Barcelona, where the Belgian tried multiple times to distance the race leader. 

Roglič, however, stood his ground. In the closing metres, Evenepoel sprinted ahead for the stage win - his second of the race - while the Slovenian followed closely behind as the overall winner.  

“It was a tough one,” Evenepoel said after the race. “It was going to be really hard to drop Primož on a course like this. 

“My team took a lot of responsibility since the start, and also on the laps. I think we just deserved this one. It was a nice battle with Primož and I’m happy I could beat him in a sprint.” 

With 28km to go, the pair broke free from the peloton on the finishing circuit in Barcelona. Evenepoel, chasing the overall victory, led for much of the finale, but couldn’t shake off Roglič on the short ascents of Montjuïc.  

Asked if he expected the Jumbo-Visma rider to respond so well to his attacks, the world champion said: “Of course, he’s Primož Roglič! He’s one of the strongest riders in the world. He’s in really good shape. When he’s in top shape, he’s maybe the best rider in the world. 

“I knew if there was one guy who was going to follow me, it was him. Like I said already, it’s easier to defend the jersey than attack for the jersey. Big credit to him, [it has been a] big, big week for him here.” 

Evenepoel added: “One of us was meant to be the winner of this beautiful race.”  

Speaking post-race in Barcelona, Roglič said he was “honoured and pleased” to add the Volta a Catalunya to his palmarès. 

“It was six hard days and I expected one more,” he said about the final stage. “The team again was great, keeping me there in position. I had the legs, so a great week behind us, we can celebrate.” 

Roglič and Evenepoel’s rivalry will continue in May when they lock horns at this year's Giro d’Italia.  

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) rounded out the Volta a Catalunya podium, over two minutes in arrears. The Portuguese rider's team-mate Marc Soler, third on the final stage, finished fourth on the overall standings. 

Remco Evenepoel makes his long awaited return to European racing at the Volta a Catalunya in Spain this week. After a period spent at altitude setting Strava KOMs, the World Champion is fully prepared for what will be his final stage race before his return to the Giro d’Italia as he guns for the Maglia Rosa. 

Speaking to reporters on Sunday afternoon, Evenepoel appeared full of confidence and self-belief ahead of what will undoubtedly be a major test for the Belgian ahead of his grander goals in May. 

“Overall it looks like a hard race, it’s a perfect simulation of the last week of the Giro, so it can be a big test for all our team,” he said. "I’m really happy we can take the start here, we’ve already checked out Monday’s finish.”

As he makes his debut in Catalunya, Evenepoel is set to face a field stacked full of quality, arguably significantly more formidable than the opposition he faced in his UAE Tour victory. 

Along with his main rivals Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), Evenepoel will also face Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Adam Yates and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), defending Giro Champion Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Thomas’ Ineos teammate Egan Bernal. 

“Lots of people will be in form here,” Evenepoel said. “So I hope to take things step by step and progress. It’s the second test after my first test in the UAE Tour, which went really well. My form is better than it was a month ago, so I should be up there with the others.”

Before the Giro begins on 6 May, the Soudal Quick-Step man will make a brief foray into Belgium to race Brabantse Pijl and attempt to defend his Liège–Bastogne–Liège title, which he took so emphatically last year. Evenepoel explained that even before the Volta a Catalunya got underway, things were already better than he anticipated as he builds for the Giro. 

“The biggest difference between 90% and 100% is to get that last small bit of weight down,” he said. “But power-wise everything is good, probably better than expected.” 

This year’s Volta Catalunya looks set to be a wide open affair, with the final general classification hierarchy unlikely to be apparent before the latter half of the week. In the second phase of racing, the riders will face the Lo Port climb in South Catalunya which is likely to rip the race wide open. Evenepoel explained that the high volume of summit finishes may mean his game plan adapts as the race progresses.

“In a week-long race, if you have a chance to take time, you never can hesitate, you always have to go for it,” Evenepoel explained to the media.

“But there are some hard days too, so it’s always easy to give a punch and get two punches back. We might be careful with big efforts in the first day, but with three mountain top finishes, those days are big opportunities. However, I won’t be the only one thinking like that, it’ll be decided by the legs and freshness towards the end of the week.”

Even though the main focus of the week is likely to be the battle between the Belgian, Roglič and Thomas, Evenepoel reiterated that to focus solely on the Ineos and Jumbo-Visma riders could leave him exposed to attacks from elsewhere.

"It's not only Primož and myself, there are 10 or 15 guys who can go for the win here," he said.

Remco Evenepoel has taken one of the most sought after Strava KOM’s on Tenerife, the Chio to Teide segment on the island’s Mount Teide climb. 

The reigning World Champion posted a record time on the segment of 56:25 to take the crown. Other notable professional racers to feature in the all-time top ten are Chris Froome, Dylan van Baarle and Pavel Sivakov.

Evenepoel bested the time of Jonas Hjorth, a rider who until the end of last year was riding with the Bahrain Victorious academy squad.

The Norwegian set a time of 58:21 in 2020 that the Belgian has now bettered by nearly two minutes.

Froome set a time of 59:20 in May 2019 (now ranked fourth best), a few months before his life-threatening crash at the Criterium du Dauphine, which Evenepoel has now smashed by nearly three minutes.

The KOM came on a 165.27 kilometre training ride that the Belgian shared earlier today, featuring more than 4,000 metres of elevation gain in the Teide National Park. Evenepoel is currently on the island for an altitude training camp as he builds for goals later in the season. 

After winning the UAE Tour in February, the Soudal Quick-Step rider is next set to race at the Volta a Catalunya which begins next week. It will be the first time Evenepoel will face off against Primož Roglič in 2023, before the duo look to fight it out for the Giro d’Italia title in May. 

Tenerife and Mount Teide have long played host to a raft of WorldTour professionals, looking to cram in some high-intensity altitude training before competing at all three of the Grand Tours. 

Sir Bradley Wiggins famously stayed at the Parador Hotel at the summit of Mount Teide in 2011.

Chris Froome and Team Sky also regularly stayed on the mountain in the past, including when Froome previously set a record time on the mountain. 

Despite it not being the highest road in Europe, Teide is the longest continuous ascent as it’s possible to begin the climb from sea level. In just 35 kilometres, riders can rapidly climb from zero to 2,100 metres of elevation continuously, mainly due to the climb's lack of cambered hairpin bends.

All of this combined makes it the ideal destination for professional riders looking to accumulate as much climbing as possible into a training programme. 

Evenepoel has used Teide before for altitude training, particularly in the winter period before he then went on to win the Vuelta a España, his first Grand Tour. 

Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter Jasper Philipsen took his second bunch sprint victory of the week at Tirreno-Adriatico, edging out Jayco-Alula’s Dylan Groenewegen on the final stage in Benedetto del Tronto, with Team DSM’s Alberto Dainese in third place. 

Race leader Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) finished safely in the bunch to secure his second overall success in the Italian stage race, with the podium completed by UAE’s João Almeida and Ineos Grenadier Tao Geoghegan Hart.

The 154km stage divided into two halves, the opening one hilly and the second totally flat. The break formed from the start. Nans Peters (AG2R Citroën), Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost), Lorenzo Fortunato (Eolo-Kometa), Samuele Zoccarato (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Henri Vandenabeele (Team DSM), Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) and Arthur Kluckers (Tudor) pushed their advantage out to three-and-a-half minutes in the hills, but the peloton began to reel them in steadily during the five laps of the 15km finish circuit.

The capture was made half a dozen kilometres from home, and led to a frantic battle for position over the twisting and tight section into the line. Alpecin came out of this high-speed back and forth in the best position, Mathieu van der Poel at the front of the line, where he set a ferocious pace for Philipsen.

Soudal-QuickStep’s Davide Ballerini took over as the Dutchman pulled aside, only to find that he had Philipsen rather than his own sprinter, Fabio Jakobsen, on his wheel. As Ballerini swung over, Philipsen took full advantage of the position he found himself in, crossing the line almost a bike length clear of Groenewegen as Dainese came from a long way back to take third.

“We just wanted to go as hard as possible to the finish. We were in a really good position as a team thanks to the confidence we got from the previous sprint. I think the team did a great job as a whole and Mathieu did really well to set me up at the end,” said Philipsen.

The defending champion at Tirreno, van der Poel has been quieter this week, putting all of his focus on next weekend’s Milan-Sanremo. “I’m really happy with the team. Two victories here is really nice. I’m starting to enjoy the lead-outs especially if the sprinter finishes it off. It’s also good for me to go hard in the final bearing in mind what’s coming,” he said.

“I’m already focused on Sanremo and I hope this will get me the shape I need for Sanremo. I’ve worked as well as I could this and I’m healthy. I just need a bit of luck to win the race next weekend.”

A surprise late entry for Tirreno, Roglič will now switch his focus to the Volta a Catalunya at the end of the month having taken three stage wins and the overall title in Italy. “It’s just nice to come back to racing this way. I really enjoyed the whole week. My team-mates were super strong. One week ago I was just expecting to suffer. It’s even better to win when it’s unexpected. It feels good ahead of the Giro d’Italia too,” said Roglič, who has made the Italian national tour his principal objective for this season.

Tirreno-Adriatico stage seven: San Benedetto del Tronto > San Benedetto del Tronto, 154km

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at 3-32.36
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Hol) Jayco-Alula
3. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
4. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
5. Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
6. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Israel-PremierTech
7. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe  
8. Clément Russo (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic
9. Luca Colnagi (Ita) Green Project-Bardiani
10. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Movistar, all same time.

Final general classification 

1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, at 28-38.57
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18 secs
3. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 23 secs
4. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-hansgrohe, at 34 secs
5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 37 secs
6. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar, at 41 secs
7. Mikel Landa (Spa) Bahrain Victorious, at 56 secs
8. Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost, at 57 secs
9. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-hansgrohe, at 1-10
10. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 1-11