It’s time to take Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic seriously.
At 29, he has stamped himself as a contender for all honors with his third stage-event win in as many tries in 2019, winning three stages and his second consecutive overall title of the Tour de Romandie, often seen as a warm-up for the Tour de France.
After finishing second in the short prologue, he won the first stage, was third in Stage 3 and won the fourth and fifth (time trial) stages on the way to a 49-second overall victory against Portugal’s Rui Costa and defending Tour de France champ Geraint Thomas (GBR).
In three rides this season, Roglic is undefeated:
● 02 March: 1st in the UAE Tour (7 stages)
● 19 March: 1st in Tirreno-Adriatico (7 stages)
● 05 May: 1st in the Tour de Romandie (5 stages)
Roglic is entered in both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. He was fourth in the Tour last season after finishing 38th in 2017. His only prior Giro was in 2016, where he finished 58th overall. Summaries:
UCI World Tour/Tour de Romandie
Switzerland ~ 30 April-5 May 2019
(Full results here)
Prologue (3.9 km): 1. Jan Tratnick (SLO), 5:06: 2. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 5:07; 3. Tom Bohli (SUI), 5:07; 4. Tony Martin (GER), 5:10; 5. Geraint Thomas (GBR), 5:10. Also in the top 25: 19. Chad Haga (USA), 5:14.
Stage 1 (168.4 km): 1. Roglic (SLO), 4:15:18; 2. David Gaudu (FRA), 4:15:18; 3. Rui Costa (POR), 4:15:18; 4. Michael Woods (CAN), 4:15:18; 5. Damien Howson (AUS), 4:15:18.
Stage 2 (174.4 km): 1. Stefan Kung (SUI), 4:10:59; 2. Sam Bennett (IRL), 4:11:58; 3. Sonny Colbrelli (ITA), 4:11:58; 4. Simone Colbrelli (ITA), 4:11:58; 5. Elia Viviani (ITA), 4:11:58.
Stage 3 (160.0 km): 1. Gaudu (FRA), 3:50:53; 2. Costa (POR), 3:50:53; 3. Roglic (SLO), 3:50:53; 4. Woods (CAN), 3:50:53; 5. Felix Grossschartner (AUT), 3:50:53.
Stage 4 (176.0 km): 1. Roglic (SLO), 2:42:21; 2. Costa (POR), 2:42:21; 3. Thomas (GBR), 2:42:21; 4. Woods (CAN), 2:42:21; 5. Gaudu (FRA), 2:42:21. Also in the top 25: 16. Joe Dombrowski (USA), 2:42:47; … 25. Joey Rosskopf (USA), 1:43:42.
Stage 5 (16.9 km Time Trial): 1. Roglic (SLO), 19:38; 2. Victor Campenaerts (BEL), 20:11; 3. Filippo Ganna (ITA), 20:13; 4. Patrick Bevan (NZL), 20:14; 5. Tony Martin (GER), 20:14. Also in the top 25: 8. Will Barta (USA), 20:41; … 14. Rosskopf (USA), 20:50
Final Standings: 1. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 15:25:11; 2. Rio Costa (POR), +0:49; 3. Geraint Thomas (GBR), +1:12; 4. Felix Grossschartner (AUT), +1:13; 5. David Gaudu (FRA), +1:17; 6. Steven Kruijswijk (NED), +1:33; 7. Emanuel Buchmann (GER), +1:35; 8. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS), +2:00; 9. Simon Spilak (SLO), +2:08; 10. Michael Woods (CAN), +2:18. Also in the top 25: 22. Joey Rosskopf (USA), +4:01.
