The cyclist Primoz Roglic, diminished by injuries, abandoned the Tour de France before the start of the 15e stage, Sunday July 17 in Rodez. For the Slovenian (32), the years follow one another and look alike in the Big Loop, which continues to elude him. He had to leave the race well before its end, last year, following a fall in the first week in Brittany. This year, the race is led by his Danish teammate Jonas Vingegaard, current yellow jersey, which he will no longer be able to support until the arrival in Paris, Sunday July 24.
Primoz Roglic fell on the cobblestones of the North, during the 5e stage leading to Arenberg. He lost time and his status as co-leader of the Jumbo team, which he shared at the start of Copenhagen with Jonas Vingegaard, runner-up to Slovenian Tadej Pogacar in 2021. Bruised in a shoulder and lower back, Roglic transformed into a devoted lieutenant in the alpine stages, in particular in the stage of the Col du Granon, which allowed Vingegaard to dethrone Pogacar. He repeatedly received the thanks of the new yellow jersey, grateful to his elder.
The current limits of the Slovenian reappeared on Saturday in the ultra-fast start of the Mende stage. Roglic was left behind on the first climb before returning to the peloton. On reflection, the rider and the team’s management have come to the decision of an early departure.
The Tour of Spain in the sights
“To allow me to treat my injuries properly, we have decided that I will not start today”said Roglic. “I’m proud of my contribution to the current standings and I’m confident the team will deliver on our yellow and green ambitions. Thank you all for your great support”he added in a relayed message by his team on Twitter.
His departure leaves the Jumbo team with seven riders facing the UAE formation of Tadej Pogacar, reduced for its part to six elements. Primoz Roglic, fourth in the 2018 edition, has accumulated disappointments in the Tour de France. If he has three stage successes to his credit, he especially experienced immense disillusion after he lost the yellow jersey on the eve of the arrival in 2020, in favor of Pogacar, during a counter- the watch made history.
Winner this year of Paris-Nice, then Dauphiné, in which Vingegaard (2e) put himself at his service, Primoz Roglic is the reigning three-time winner of the Tour of Spain, which should now be his next big goal.
In the event of victory, the Olympic time trial champion would join the Spaniard Roberto Heras, who holds the record of four victories in the Vuelta since the Spanish justice validated one of his victories despite a positive doping control and sanctions for doping.