Primož Roglič says Jumbo-Visma were too calculating, during his heart-breaking defeat in the 2020 Tour de France.
The Slovenian Grand Tour star was just one-day away from wearing yellow into Paris when he was defeated by Tadej Pogačar in an unforgettable time trial on La Planche des Belles Filles.
Roglič came back from the disappointment however, winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège and following up with his second consecutive victory in the Vuelta a España.
In an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe (opens in new tab), the 31-year-old said: “It was a brutal defeat but more for the people around me.
“I now see that second place, which was so frustrating at the time, as something nice. I told the team that we won by showing how strong the team was. Of course, we didn’t get that final win but sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. When you have done everything you can, you have to accept it.”
Roglič added: “In hindsight we were calculating too much as a team. We didn’t ride on instinct, on fun.”
He said the team controlled the race too much, dragging other teams to the finish.
In contrast, Roglič said the team raced at full gas every day during the Vuelta, taking a different approach which put their leader into the red jersey at the end of the race.
Roglič had dominated the 2020 Tour in the opening weeks, winning a stage and wearing the leader’s jersey from stage nine.
But in the fateful TT on stage 2020, Roglič fell victim to the generational talent of his compatriot Pogačar, who overturned a minute deficit to Roglič over the final 36km of racing to take his first Grand Tour win at just 21.
Roglič is once again expected to build his season around the Tour, racing the Ardennes Classics in the early season before racing the Critérium du Dauphiné and The Tour.
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He is then set to close out his season in the autumn Classics in Italy, in the hopes of taking an Il Lombardia title in October.
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