Primoz Roglic is perhaps the biggest surprise at the start of today’s Clasica San Sebastian, not having hinted to the participation in any way over the past few months and coming straight off the Tour de France. The Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe rider will start as one of the main favourites, but he doesn’t feel like he has to act on that.”I’m tired, yes, but as I said before, one of the main reasons I’m here is because I love the people, I love the region. So why not? I want to try my luck tomorrow, to give my best, and we’ll see how it goes,” Roglic said in an interview with several news outlets including Cyclism’Actu.
Roglic did a full-on preparation towards the Giro d’Italia but a sequence of crashes derailed his plans and saw him withdraw from the race at the start of the final week. During the Tour de France he quickly began to talk about the lack of pressure he is putting on himself and managed to, for the first time since 2020, escape the opening half of the race without a crash that derailed his race. This saw him then go into the mountains with his best form and ultimately be in the Top5 until the final day in the mountains.
In San Sebastián, he deploys the same mindset:: “In the end, it’s up to us to decide what ‘giving it our all’ means, what a victory, a second or 10th place, or even just finishing the race means. I feel free about that; I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I came here because I love the atmosphere, I love the crowd, the support. It should be a tough race, but also a fun one. We’ll see what we can do with the team”.
The race is one that suits him, naturally being on Basque roads where he’s had good results in the past, but also over the short and steep climbs that are a good fit for the veteran. “Oh yes, even if the last one is always one too many! But I know it well; it’s a traditional climb here. In fact, I know almost all the climbs in the region from racing there for years. It’s typical: it’s not a very long race, but it never disappoints. And even though there are only a few hundred very steep meters, it’s a real challenge to overcome”.
Asked about who his main rivals would be the Slovenian gives an answer in his traditional style: “Honestly, I don’t even know exactly who’s starting. I saw a few guys today during the team presentation; some are coming from the Tour de France. They’ll definitely have the level and the legs, but they’ll also have some rest now. On our side too, the guys are coming back from altitude training, preparing for the Vuelta. It’s going to be a wild ride, that’s for sure, from the start”.