'New Pogačar' Omrzel announces himself with cocky interview after Vuelta victory: 'It's like we're playing on the PlayStation'

Jakob Omrzel had long been regarded as a top talent and was already affectionately referred to in his home country as the new Tadej Pogacar. For a long time, that comparison seemed rather opportunistic, but the similarities after Stage 12 of the Vuelta a España were quite striking. Add to that a legendary flash interview, and a new star seems to have been born.

Omrzel is making his Grand Tour debut in this Vuelta a España, but we’re definitely counting him among the outsiders for the young rider classification heading into the race. The 20-year-old Slovenian from Bahrain Victorious is only in his first season with the WorldTour team, but last year, as a rider on the development team, he won the Giro NextGen in the U23 category and became the Slovenian elite champion.

Omrzel was a standout in the U23 ranks and, as has become tradition for the most promising talents, made the leap to the WorldTour without much trouble. He finished sixth in the Tour of the Alps, eighth in Hungary, and third in the Tour of Slovenia. In the Vuelta, the very young climber wasn’t yet among the best in the first week, but in the second week, his legs really started to come alive.

Omrzel was already in contention in Stage 7 and finished fourth in that stage. This moved him up toward the top ten in the general classification, and thanks to his stage win in Stage 12, he has jumped up to sixth place. In the battle for the white youth jersey, he is now suddenly only 30 seconds behind Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS). There’s still so much of the race to go—where will this end?

His comments after the race bode well. “I’m not surprised, because I know how much work I’ve put into this,” Omrzel said matter-of-factly after his solo victory from the breakaway. “I knew this day would come sooner or later, but of course I wasn’t 100 percent convinced it would happen in my very first Grand Tour.”

His comments were full of bravado, even when asked about the effort he put in during the final 12 kilometers, which he completed all on his own in the heat. “I can’t believe what I just did, but I just felt great and I still feel okay now. I’m not exhausted or anything, so I’m just enjoying the moment,” he laughed while on the rollers.

Bahrain Victorious’s teamwork was truly a 10 out of 10. In addition to Omrzel, the team also sent King of the Mountains Santiago Buitrago and lead-out man Pello Bilbao, and the three of them dominated the stage. “Bahrain Victorious is truly amazing; as riders, we really understand each other so well,” the stage winner said in praise.

"For now, we're working together really well—it's practically perfect. It's like we're playing on the PlayStation; we do whatever we want, and it was amazing to be in the flight with Pello and Santi," Omrzel added, offering yet more brilliant quotes.

When he was finally confronted with the fact that he is now the youngest Slovenian stage winner in the Vuelta and that he rode solo for longer than Tadej Pogacar did in 2019 (12 kilometers versus 3), it brought a final grin to his face. “They’re just statistics; they don’t mean much anymore. But they are fun numbers,” said Omrzel, the new Tadej Pogacar.