Joking, but also dead serious: Roglic will be racing the Vuelta with a broken back

Three-time Vuelta a España winner Primož Roglič has made it all the way to the start in Lisbon. The Slovenian broke a vertebra in his back during his crash in the Tour de France, but has recovered enough to start the race that has always suited him so well. Roglic made his return in his characteristic way: joking during the team presentation on Thursday, and a bit more serious during his press conference on Friday with IDLProCycling.com.

The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe riders stood on stage, all seven of them. With the Tower of Belém as the backdrop, the search was on for team leader Roglic. Moments later, he made his entrance alone, even after the last team, Visma | Lease a Bike, had been presented. "I was still waiting at the hotel," he joked to the Portuguese crowd.

A day later, a Portuguese journalist wanted to know why Roglic arrived late, but this time, he had a different story to tell. "There were a lot of people. I was trying to sign autographs for everyone, and I was learning some Portuguese, but it’s such a difficult language. That’s why I was a bit late for the team presentation, but it was a lot of fun," smiled the mysterious man from Slovenia.

Read more below the photo/video.

Interview Primoz Roglic before the Vuelta a Espana 2024

Primož, first the most important question: how are you doing after your crash in the Tour de France and the broken vertebra you suffered? Do you feel fit here at the start of the Vuelta in Lisbon?

"Hi. I still feel pain in my back, definitely. It still needs time, but normally it should be fine by the end of the Vuelta. I'm already looking forward to that."

That's still three weeks away.

"Yes, three weeks!"

Do you feel it mostly on the bike, when you have to put pressure on the pedals?

"So far, it’s getting a little better each week, but something like this doesn’t heal in one, two, or three weeks. Let alone one day. It takes time until I feel nothing, but it’s enough to be able to ride. That’s why I’m here. If I couldn’t ride, I wouldn’t be here. But there are still some question marks, because I haven’t been able to race with this injury yet. So that’s something we’ll have to monitor day by day in this Vuelta, to see how the pain is during the race. But I’m optimistic."

Are you having doubts?

"Not really. You can't speed up this process, but you can't slow it down either. It is what it is, and I have to deal with it."

How did you handle it mentally, from the moment you had to leave the Tour?

"That was tough. Not just for me, but also for my family. They put in a lot of work and make constant sacrifices, but on the other hand, you always face challenges in life. There are always things you have to fight against, so once again, I received the necessary support to pull myself together in a certain way. And that's how I was able to prepare myself for this Vuelta."

Can you share how you felt during the Tour, since you didn’t really get to test yourself there?

"I'm not going to say I would have been in the running for the win, but I definitely could have tried to be on the podium. I enjoyed competing with the best riders in the world, even though I didn’t make it to the end of the Tour. They were riding really fast, so it was good to measure myself against them."

How do you plan to avoid a similar crash?

"By staying in a good position, but then again, everyone wants that. It's become a significant part of modern cycling, constantly fighting for position. In a way, you can never completely rule out a crash because something can happen from the front or the back."

Read more below the photo.

What do you expect from the competition in this Vuelta a España? From strong teams like UAE-Team Emirates?

"Honestly, I'm just happy to be starting the Vuelta and that my form is good enough to compete at all. From the time trial on day one, the main thing will be to see how I'm doing, and then we can look at the competition later. At that point, we'll figure out our tactics."

The Vuelta has always been your favorite grand tour. Are you determined to prove yourself again?

"Good question. I'm going to try to enjoy it, and for the rest, we will see, huh. After my crash in the Tour and the preparation I've had, it's just nice that I can start the Vuelta. I need to be realistic, for myself and for the guys on the team around me. Of course, we’re aiming for the best possible result, the win, but I think it's most important that I get the best out of myself."

A recurring theme in your career is that you come back stronger after setbacks. That's how you've won all your Vuelta titles.

"Hopefully, that's still the case." (winks)