'Now I will enjoy the Worlds' - Roglic coy on future despite Vuelta podium finish

Speaking in Granada on Sunday evening, the four-time champion would not confirm if he had ridden the final Vuelta of his career, insisting that he was only looking as far ahead as the World Championships in Montreal and the European Championships on home roads in Slovenia.

“Oh, I don’t care. I mean, maybe, but you don’t know in what kind of condition or shape, or just to watch or whatever, but we will see,” Roglič said when asked if he would be at the 2027 Vuelta. 

“Like I said, it’s day by day. I just finished the Vuelta. Now I will try to focus on or enjoy the Worlds in Canada. I mean, I was never in Canada so it should be a nice country to go to, and then I’m going to the next one in Slovenia, so we will see. It’s still one year until the next Vuelta anyway, so we will see where the future will bring us.”

The Vuelta was the primary focus of Roglič’s 2026 season after he was omitted from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Tour de France squad, which was built around Florian Lipowitz and new signing Remco Evenpoel, but his preparations were disrupted by a training crash in late July.

Roglič only confirmed his participation days before the start in Monaco, but he made an encouraging start by placing among the best of the rest behind a rampant Tadej Pogačar in Andorra on stage 4.

When Pogačar crashed out four days later, Roglič became a logical contender for overall victory, but he conceded ground to eventual winner Enric Mas (Movistar) on the summit finishes in week two and he could only claw back 33 seconds on the Spaniard in the Jerez time trial on stage 18.

Roglič finished the Vuelta 2:15 down in second place overall, just ahead of Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM). It was his sixth podium finish at the Vuelta from seven participations. 

“I know how I did with the run-in to the start, but the Vuelta started at home in Monaco, so I wanted to be a part of it,” he said. “We went day by day to we see where we end up, and it’s second this year. 

“That was definitely hard to imagine before the start, so I mean, it’s a victory for me in this case, a victory that I could achieve together with my team. We did our best day after day, and Enric Mas was just better. I’m super happy for him, because at the end he also deserves to finish first.”

Pogačar’s season-ending crash means that Roglič will lead the Slovenian team at the World Championships in Montreal, though he downplayed his prospects of earning the nation a third consecutive rainbow jersey.

“We will see,” he said. “I have actually no expectations about the result, you know. I just want to go there, enjoy, and do my best.”