Tadej Pogacar is still only 26 years old, but Slovenia can already look ahead to a promising future with yet another supertalent coming from this small country. Jakob Omrzel has only just moved up from junior ranks but he immediately won the biggest under-23 stage race of this season (so far) and became a National champion. Not even his idol was able to to do that in his first season.”I won the Giro Next Gen as a first-year U23 rider, but I wouldn’t say I was surprised to win,” Omrzel told Wieler Revue with confidence. “I know how hard I worked for it.”
His path and that of Pogacar are not all that different. “I got into cycling because of my brother Aljaz. I wanted to do what my older brother did. Yes, just like Pogacar (who got into cycling because of his older brother Tilen, ed.).”
The similarities don’t stop there: Pogacar finished fourth at the 2018 Tour of Slovenia at the age of nineteen. Omrzel, who became Slovenian champion this year, did the same earlier this year. He himself cannot deny such a parallel exists. “There are similarities with his story, but he’s a rider who comes along once every fifty years.”
However Pogacar is still very unique and Omrzel would rather build his own legacy than follow other’s. “It’s difficult to predict what the future holds for me, but if I stay focused, I’m sure I can achieve great things.”
“I’ve never trained with Pogacar, but I met him once at the World Championships in Glasgow and at a ceremony in Slovenia. I was named Talent of the Year. It’s funny: he congratulated me, while in my opinion it should have been the other way around, haha. He’s very down-to-earth. There will be more comparisons between him and me in the future, but I know: everyone writes their own story.”
Already competitive against pros, Omrzel seems ready to take the step to the pros. Will the team speed things up and promote the Slovenian despite having one more year on his contract with development team? “It’s my first year with the Bahrain – Victorious development team. Will I turn pro next year? I want to take it easy. I’m focusing on the next races, and after the season, I’ll decide what I’m going to do.”