'The day I stop is getting closer' - Primoz Roglic thinks about life beyond cycling
Primoz Roglic has admitted that the end is drawing nearer. At the Profronde of Etten-Leur, the Slovenian spoke to Het Laatste Nieuws with openness about shifting priorities, family life, and the sense that his long run at the top is beginning to close.
“Nowadays it’s about survival, and at my age the day I stop is getting closer,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws. “I’m not 20 anymore, so naturally I look at my future differently. I want to do other things in life as well. Maybe go back to the winter sports where it all started for me. No, not ski jumping, that’s in the past. But the Winter Olympics? That would be pretty cool, even if for now it’s unrealistic.”
The words come at the end of a demanding summer. Roglič abandoned the Giro d’Italia on stage 16, then steadied himself to finish eighth at the Tour de France. There were flashes of his old aggression in the third week, but little to suggest he could alter the hierarchy shaped by Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar.
Now he has also chosen not to ride the Vuelta a España, the race that defined so much of his career. By staying home with his wife and two young children, Roglič not only forgoes the chance to defend his title but also relinquishes the opportunity to stand alone as the rider with the most overall victories in the Spanish Grand Tour.
For now he remains tied with Roberto Heras on four. “I can’t be everywhere anymore,” he said. “At home I have a wife and two children, and they deserve my attention. Cycling is my job, but my family means everything to me. Above all, I’m a loving husband and father, only then a sportsman.”
The balance between duty and desire was clear throughout his reflections. He took satisfaction from reaching Paris in July. “Although I wasn’t always at my best, I genuinely enjoyed making it to the third week and finishing the Tour.” Asked about returning, he made no promises. “I take things day by day.”
Whether he sees out his Red Bull contract or walks away sooner remains unanswered. “We’ll see,” was his first response, before adding candidly that with each passing day, he is naturally edging closer to retirement and stated, "I want to do other things in life too."
Earlier, Roglič also addressed the arrival of Remco Evenepoel at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. He called the Belgian “a special guy” and voiced the hope that they can “achieve great things together.” Meanwhile, Roglič’s own comments on his future underlined the different directions now at play within the team. Red Bull-BORA is building towards the future with Evenepoel, while Roglič is beginning to look beyond the bike.
