Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) didn’t have his eyes firmly trained on the Tour de France route announcement this week, but not because he had let either the overwhelming dominance of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) or three years of DNF-inducing crashes get to him. It was simply that he had something far more important to do – celebrate his 35th birthday.
That may have been where his focus lay when Tour de France organisers announced that the 112th edition would include two time trials and six mountain finishes next year. However, he made clear that the yellow jersey of the Tour de France was not far off the radar, with a reason to celebrate in July.
“I always, obviously like to win,” Pogačar told a small group of reporters, including Cyclingnews, while in Saitama ahead of the Tour de France criterium near Tokyo on Saturday. “But on the other hand, looking to the next season, trying to improve myself still here and there, on a couple of aspects and try to grow as a team.
“I think we should look at it like that. I mean, Tadej, where he is at the moment, he’s really unbeatable, or hard to compete against. But you never know what next year brings. Maybe he’s even … better.”
In 2024, the 26-year-old Pogačar added a third overall Tour de France title to his palmares along with a Giro d’Italia victory. Among his 25 UCI season wins was also Il Lombardia, six Tour and Giro stages each, Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the UCI Road World Championships. This widespread winning record means that he pretty much automatically hits the top of the favourites list whenever he is at a race.
“But looking to ourselves, if I can be the best version of myself, I can easily go with it,” said Roglič.
It is too early for Roglič to have finalised his programme for 2025, though he did mention that the season starter of the Tour Down Under in January was out given he was still in off-season mode.
He did however once again joke that perhaps the best way of dealing with the dominance of Pogačar was avoidance tactics, obtaining his programme for 2025 and then “I do the opposite,” he said with a laugh.
Saturday is the 10th edition of the Saitama Criterium, which will have riders complete 17 laps of a 3.6km course for a full length of 61.2km. Roglič will line up against Tour de France green jersey winner Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), 2023 points champion Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and all-time Tour stage winner Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan).
