After achieving success as a ski jumper, Primož Roglič, a Slovenian, battled his way up to the world’s elite cycling ranks. He continues to approach his sport in an occasionally odd way.
Ninety-nine out of a hundred cycling enthusiasts would agree that Primož Roglič’s biggest loss to date has been the Tour de France 2020, when he lost what he believed to be a guaranteed victory on the last stage. Primož Roglič, a Slovenian father of two and one of the most accomplished cyclists in cycling history, is the one guy who would respond differently. It would be incorrect to suggest that Roglič “wasted” the victory. He does not consider the Tour de France in 2020 to be a loss. It’s success, in his opinion, to have placed second in the greatest cycling race in the world. Is he not correct in that assertion? Regardless, he hasn’t produced
However, what makes him assess this outcome so differently than the audience? For eleven days, Roglič wore the maillot jaune of the overall leader. Next was the 20th stage, the mountain time trial up to La Planche des Belles Filles, which determined the overall classification. Roglič excels in both time trials and climbing. People assumed the tour was set in stone. Not in Primož Roglič’s opinion.
The riders begin the time trial in reverse order of the overall ranking, starting one after the other. Thus, at 5:14 p.m., Roglič departed last, trailed by the younger and exceptionally gifted Slovenian in second position, Tadej Pogačar. In the overall standings, Roglič led Pogačar by 57 seconds, which is a significant lead in a 36-kilometer time trial. You either have to commit a grave error if you want to lose 57 seconds over 36 kilometers. Or it must be the most amazing day of the other person’s life.
That’s the kind of thing Roglič says all the time. He smiles, cocks his head to the side, and makes arm motions. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.” Alternatively: “The race isn’t over until it’s over.” Alternatively: “Either you have good legs, or you don’t have good legs.” You never know when he’s talking like that—is he being serious or is he simply trying to get the journalists off his back? However, what may seem like platitudes to Primož Roglič may actually be a fact that holds great significance for him. He doesn’t only say these things to pass the time or express his annoyance. He speaks from the heart when he says these things.
