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."
