Primoz Roglic sees a promising transfer ruined by Ayuso in sticky situation at Red Bull

Roglic was signed by Red Bull in 2024 as their star rider, after winning the Giro d’Italia once and the Vuelta a España three times with Visma. He also became Olympic time trial champion in Tokyo (2021) and won virtually every week-long stage race out there, racking up stage wins along the way. His palmarès already boasts 91 victories, including Liège–Bastogne–Liège (2020).

At Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Roglic had an excellent 2024, winning the Critérium du Dauphiné overall and, after a Tour de France derailed by a crash, securing a fourth overall win at the Vuelta a España. But 2025 has been a bit more stagnant, aside from two stage wins and the overall victory in the Tour of Catalonia, Roglic hasn’t won anything else. He finished eighth in the Tour de France.

Although the experienced race winner is still under contract with Red Bull through the end of 2026, the question is whether he’ll still have a role in the ambitious team led by director Ralph Denk. Alongside Evenepoel, the German also has rising star Florian Lipowitz (third in this year’s Tour), and Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari are currently showing their best legs at the Vuelta a España.

“We need to have discussions about how we’ll approach the grand tours,” Denk recently said in response to Evenepoel’s arrival. “It’s too early to say what it means for Roglic and others. Cycling isn’t like football, where you only have one starting lineup per match. Our team looks different for the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta.”

Denk already planned a conversation with Roglic to talk about the goals he still sees ahead. “He’s won almost everything except the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France. So we’ll come up with a plan,” the German announced. But that plan could potentially also be an exit strategy. Journalist Thijs Zonneveld seriously considers that scenario on In De Waaier.

“There’s a major transfer in the air, one that people around the peloton still aren’t sure will happen. And that’s Primoz Roglic. What you hear is that several teams are holding off on filling a few spots because they don’t know what’s happening with him. Multiple teams believe Roglic might make a move, and that could free up space and budget elsewhere,” Zonneveld said.

Lidl-Trek is mentioned as a possible destination. The American team is looking for a top general classification rider but may already have someone lined up. Juan Ayuso recently tore up his contract with UAE Team Emirates-XRG and could be heading to Lidl-Trek. If that happens, Roglic may be left out of the picture. Movistar is also being mentioned, but cycling journalist Daniel Benson has denied that link. “Red Bull is still counting on Roglic being on the payroll in 2026.”