If Primož Roglič wants another run at the Tour de France, he surely can’t stay at Jumbo-Visma.
That seems to be the reality underpinning talks between this year’s Giro d’Italia champion and Lidl-Trek, which has just seen its budget increase dramatically and is looking for another GC rider to sit alongside Tao Geoghegan Hart, recently signed from Ineos Grenadiers.
Roglič’s current deal with Jumbo runs through 2025 and the official line from both Lidl-Trek and Roglič representatives acknowledges that fact (Jumbo has not yet responded to a request for comment). While there’s no deal yet and no guarantee of one, Escape Collective understands that Roglič’s camp is open to the idea of a move. Some buyout would need to take place, the details of which are not yet sorted and would certainly prove complicated, but there is a willingness from both parties to investigate solutions.
The undercurrent, of course, is the near impossibility of another run at the Tour de France for the 33-year-old Slovenian under his current team setup. If Jonas Vingegaard starts the Tour, the 26-year-old two-time winner will be Jumbo’s main man, and likely for years to come as he’s under contract through 2027. For another shot at leadership on cycling’s greatest stage, Roglič must look elsewhere. By 2026, when his Jumbo contract is up, he will be 36.
Roglič has been the consummate teammate for Vingegaard, playing a crucial role in the Granon stage that set up the Dane’s first Tour victory in 2022. Roglič did so after crashing on stage 5 and injuring his back, ending his own chances at victory and simplifying the two-leader setup with which Jumbo entered the race.
This year, the two GC leaders split their calendars. Roglič raced, and won, the Giro, and Vingegaard won the Tour. Now both are set to ride side by side for the first time this season at the Vuelta a Espana, starting this weekend.
When contacted for comment, Roglič’s agent, Mattia Galli, replied via e-mail, expressing “a little surprise” at speculation around his rider. “I can imagine many teams would be interested in Primož given the performance he’s still doing,” he replied.
“Primož has a contract with JumboVisma until 2025 and he is happy in the team and there are not [sic] different wills so far,” he wrote.
With the addition of Lidl as title sponsor, Trek went from the “bottom third to top third” of WorldTour teams in terms of budget, a team representative told Escape Collective when the new sponsorship was announced. They are now on a bit of a buying spree. They’ve been one of the most active teams in the transfer market, picking up Geoghegan Hart, sprinter Jonathan Milan, and climbers Andrea Bagioli, Fabio Felline, Ryan Gibbons, and Patrick Konrad. The team also just launched a development program, headed up by former Trek rider Markel Irizar.
When contacted for comment, the team’s General Manager, Luca Guercilena, indicated that a Roglič signing would be a good fit, but reiterated the hurdle that is the rider’s current contract situation and would not directly confirm that talks have taken place.
“This is all hypothetical as we know Primož has a contract for next year with Jumbo, but of course it’s evident he would be a great fit for our team,” Guercilena said. “A rider with his palmarés and racing craft would really align with the vision we have for the team. We have a lot of young riders with a ton of potential and we also have great momentum going right now, so it’s clear someone like him can elevate a team just like Mads [Pedersen] does.”
What did you think of this story?