On the day of Jasper Philipsen's winning sprint in San Benedetto del Tronto, Primoz Roglic completes his recovery and takes home the Italian stage race for the second time after 2019.
«Coming back strong after an accident – he says smiling – depends on many things, but especially from the fact that I am happy and mentally freeThese days I've often been completely stuck, starting from the time trial, because I had to find my rhythm again above all. The day of Sassotetto was difficult, it made me grit my teethThe Tirreno one is one of the most beautiful trophies, now I have two and maybe my children will be able to play with them together without arguing.
«I had a hard winter, I won't say if it was my worst period, but I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't had my family by my side and people who believed in me.Now it's a matter of improving my climbing skills a little further to be up to the challenges that await me. This is the beauty of cycling: every day we push ourselves beyond our limits…».
Roglic surprise
We've been hearing from Roglic for days be amazed by the great condition that allowed him to win the Tirreno-Adriatico. His presence in the Jumbo Visma it was not expected and the call-up came unexpectedly, when his coach gave the green light.
It's not the first time the Slovenian has started the season with a victory. In 2021 he started at Paris-Nice and won it, astonishing everyone with his authority.. To the point that we asked Mathieu Heijboer, who prepared him, how he had worked to be so brilliant. Nothing to be surprised about, in short, if it were not that what made the exploit less predictable in this case was the very serious injury to his shoulder for the fall of the Vuelta in Monasterio de Tentuda. When we met him at the team headquarters in Holland, his goal was get back in the saddle for the retreatThe rest was very unclear…
So this morning we met Arthur Van Dongen, 54 years old and 1,95 m tall, sporting director of the Dutch team in the Italian race, with the curiosity to know how they welcomed Roglic and whether they expected him to be so strong already.
Primoz says he's surprised by his condition every day: has it surprised you too?
We knew he was ready to run and It didn't even surprise us that he was already in great shapeThe only thing his coach Marc Lambert told us in advance was that he was ready for short climbs, less so for longer ones. Instead he managed to survive on Sassotetto and that day we were a bit lucky, because there were more than 2 kilometers less climbing and also a strong headwindI think we did well, but we knew he was already in good shape.
Before he arrived, had you imagined a team with other leaders?
We had planned to use Wilco Kelderman and Tiesj Benoot for the general classification. And then Wout Van Aert would have fought for the stages, especially for the fourth: the one in Tortoreto. It was probably the best on that type of route, but he fell and unfortunately this is also part of cycling.
Did you have to explain to the rest of the team that Roglic's arrival would change the balance, or did they take it well?
We've done this before, I didn't find it without knowing. Our boss, Merijn Zeeman made a call and at that point we talked to the guys to change the plans.Roglic has been the leader of this team for many years, someone who has accustomed us to his victories. We like to win together and then when you manage to win three stages, in the end everyone agrees.
Which of the three stages surprised you the most?
Perhaps the first one he won, in Tortoreto. Because he was behind on the last climb and suddenly he moved up. I noticed that he had Alaphilippe on his wheel, but he couldn't pass him.. And then I thought, “Wow, he’s already in great shape.”
As journalists, we see him smiling a lot more, and he explained that even the toughest times can teach us something. Is he smiling more with you, too?
It is true, He smiles a lot in the team too, but he is always very professional and this makes the differenceHe's back to being a top-level rider, but he smiles much more than before. It's not that his relationships within the team have changed. This is my fourth year on the team and I think it always has a great relationship with the other guysFor the team, Primoz's kindness was never a cause for discussion or doubt.
