Primož Roglič has spoken openly about his racing career, his unique philosophy on life, his 2024 Tour de France ambitions and why he was happy to help Sepp Kuss win the 2023 Vuelta a España despite his own ambitions.
Roglič is usually a man of few words, but during an hour-long conversation in front of an audience of 300 guests and cycling fans at the Gazzetta dello Sport Festival dello Sport in Trento, Roglič’s true character emerged. Cyclingnews was there too.
He is an ambitious professional cyclist but also reflective on the way he approaches life, his youth as a ski jumper, forming the foundations of his cycling career.
Roglič appeared relaxed and happy as he sat on stage in Trento, after arguably his best-ever season. He won the Giro d’Italia in May and every stage race he rode during the season, except for the Vuelta a España.
The Slovenian was 33 when he won the Giro d’Italia in May, and he is competing against a new generation of talented riders that are a decade younger. Yet Roglič does not feel his age and is confident he can continue to be successful in Grand Tours.
“I started cycling late and so don’t really care about counting the years. When you have the possibility to achieve the things you dream of, you have to do it as long as you like it,” Roglič suggested as he calmly answered questions from former Italian rider Davide Cassani and Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Nino Morici.
“I’ll keep on racing as long as I have fun. Now, I enjoy it and have fun being who I am in the world of cycling. When I realise I want to do other things in life, I’ll make space for the young guys who are coming up quickly.”
Roglič’s transformation from a ski jumper to a Grand Tour winner is well known. He sold a motorbike to buy his first race bike and took part in Italian Gran Fondo rides before his first real races. He convinced the Adria Mobile Continental team to give him a chance in 2013 and only signed his first professional contract in 2016 when Jumbo-Visma were convinced he had some special talents.
Roglič spent 15 years as a talented ski jumper, from the age of seven to 22, giving him a unique outlook on life and elite sport.
“When I was 22 and not an Olympic champion and not the best of the best that I dreamt of being as a kid, I realised it was perhaps the last chance to change sports. I felt cycling could be…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…