Slovenia put their faith in Roglic for Worlds with Pogacar absent

Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is set to feature for Slovenia at the World Championships in the elite men’s road race, in the absence of two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar. 

It has been confirmed that Pogačar, who crashed out of the Vuelta a España on stage 8 while leading the GC, will not return to racing again this season. This means he won’t be able to try to win a third successive rainbow jersey following his successes over the past two seasons in Switzerland and Rwanda. 

The Slovenian Cycling Federation confirmed their line-up on Thursday for the elite men’s road race in Montréal, Canada, which will take place on September 27. 

Roglič, who is currently still racing the Vuelta and sitting second overall, features in the selection and is set to line up for his eighth road race as an elite. The 36-year-old finished 11th last year in Rwanda, his second-best result, following a sixth-place finish in 2020 in Italy. 

Roglič is set to be joined by his trade teammate Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who is lining up for his eighth Worlds, as well as Bahrain-Victorious duo Matevž Govekar and Matej Mohorič, with the latter set for his sixth appearance.

The squad is rounded out by Gal Glivar (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Luka Mezgec (Jayco AlUla) and Tilen Finkšt (Solution Tech Nippo Rali). Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain-Victorious), who won stage 12 of the Vuelta and sits in sixth overall ahead of stage 18, is also part of the provisional selection, though the federation confirmed that a decision on the 20-year-old will be made following the Vuelta.

Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Nika Bobnar (Nexetis) make up the selection for the elite women’s road race, while Tratnik will feature in the elite men’s time trial event.