Roglic joins Evenepoel and Lipowitz at Red Bull’s Tour altitude camp

For now, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is not drawing any firm conclusions from Roglič’s presence in Spain. The team has kept its Tour selection open for much of the season and is expected to confirm its final eight riders only on June 26, one week before the race begins in Barcelona.

That opening stage, on July 4, is a team time trial in the Catalan capital. It makes the sight of Roglič joining the group for collective work notable, although the team has stressed that the current altitude camp should not simply be read as the final Tour squad.

Team director Patxi Vila told La Dernière Heure that not every rider currently in Sierra Nevada is guaranteed a place at the Tour.

“It is not certain that they will all be at the start of the Tour,” Vila said. “Other riders will still join the training camp soon.”

Roglič’s expected programme has so far pointed clearly toward the Vuelta a España, where he could target a record fifth overall victory. The Tour de Suisse has also been scheduled for the Slovenian, with the Swiss race still missing from his palmarès as the only big one-week stage race.

A Tour start would be Roglič’s eighth and would take him back to a race that has brought him both success, including three stage wins, and the most difficult moment of his career. In 2020, he looked set to win the Tour before losing the yellow jersey to Tadej Pogačar in the time trial to La Planche des Belles Filles, one of the most dramatic final weekend turnarounds in the race’s recent history.

Last year, Roglič went into the Tour as a shared leader with Lipowitz, but the balance inside the team shifted during the race. 

Roglič lost time early and was unable to match the very best climbers in the general classification. He eventually finished eighth overall, more than 25 minutes behind his compatriot Pogačar, although his attacking attitude in the final week was one of the more striking parts of his race.

Red Bull’s main focus for this year’s Tour is built around Evenepoel and Lipowitz. Evenepoel has not raced since Liège-Bastogne-Liège and is following a controlled altitude programme instead of a traditional June race block. Lipowitz will head to the Tour of Slovenia, which is set to be his final race test before the Tour. A short training block will follow.

Several other riders remain in the frame for the final selection according to  La Dernière Heure. Maxim Van Gils, Jan Tratnik and Gianni Vermeersch have been part of the Sierra Nevada group, while Mattia Cattaneo, Mick Van Dijke, Gianni Moscon and Daniel Felipe Martínez could also be considered. The team will also monitor how Jai Hindley and Nico Denz recover from the Giro d’Italia.

Roglič’s longer term future is another open question. The Slovenian is in the final year of his contract with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and it is not yet known if and where he will race next season.