At the conclusion of this season, Primo Rogli will go from Jumbo-Visma, he has stated. The Slovenian made his impending exit known to the media on Saturday at the start of the Giro dell’Emilia in Carpi, though he won’t identify his new club until next week, when he will have completed his season at Il Lombardia.
I can only confirm with certainty that I would quit the squad, but Rogli insisted that all the information on my whereabouts following my races be disclosed. “So, absolutely, I’m here to race first. We’ll carry out the subsequent actions after I concentrate here.
Even though Rogli is under contract with Jumbo-Visma till the end of the following season, whispers about his departure from the team had been rife, and they intensified recently as a result of the announcement of the potential merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-QuickStep.
Rogli’s escape from his contract to compete elsewhere was ruled out by Jumbo-Visma during the Vuelta a Espana, with manager Richard Plugge regularly referring to the Slovenian as his team’s “king.”
After making the late decision to convert from ski jumping to cycling, Rogli joined Jumbo-Visma in 2016. He soon established himself as a stage racing talent at the WorldTour level. Three times he has won the Vuelta a Espaa, and this year he won the Giro d’Italia, the first Grand Tour that Jumbo-Visma has won without losing a stage.
For the first time since 2019, Rogli was absent from the Tour de France, and Jonas Vingegaard started the race alone to defend his championship. Both men then started the Vuelta, but Sepp Kuss, another member of their team, ultimately won, with Rogli and Vingegaard placing second and third in Madrid.
Rogli’s chances of rejoining the Tour as the head of Jumbo-Visma were already hampered by the presence of Vingegaard, but the rise of Kuss as a GC contender and the potential appearance of Remco Evenepoel in the event of a merger with Soudal-QuickStep only heightened the internal rivalry.
In the most recent weeks, Rogli has been connected to a number of teams, including Movistar, Lidl-Trek, Ineos, Bora-Hansgrohe, Israel Premier Tech, and Bahrain Victorious. Ineos and Bora-Hansgrohe are said to be his most steadfast suitors.
The rider’s announcement on Saturday confirms that Jumbo-Visma are now willing to let him go, and the new team’s identity will be made public after the rider’s season-ending performance at Il Lombardia on the following Saturday.
Ralf Denk, manager of Bora-Hansgrohe, declined to comment when contacted by Cyclingnews on Saturday over the possibility of Rogli joining his team. Denk stated, “We don’t comment on rumours.
Rogli’s first race following the Vuelta is the Giro dell’Emilia, where he will compete against fellow countryman Tadej Pogaar of the UAE Team Emirates on the challenging San Luca finale. In addition to winning the Giro d’Italia time trial up the San Luca in 2019, Rogli also won the Giro dell’Emilia in 2019 and 2021.
It’s also my first one-day race of this season, so we’ll try to push for it, Rogli added. We’ll have to wait and see how my legs and my post-Vuelta recovery are doing.
The 33-year-old’s season, as well as his affiliation with Jumbo-Visma, will come to an end at Il Lombardia the following weekend after competing in Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday.