Transfer rumours about Roglič as retirement deadline looms: New potential team enters conversation

Roglič celebrated his greatest successes with the Dutch team. After his career as a ski jumper, he turned pro on the WorldTour circuit in 2016 with LottoNL-Jumbo, the predecessor of Visma | Lease a Bike. With that team, he won the Vuelta a España three times, as well as the Giro d'Italia and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. After a difficult 2023, during which he increasingly had to share the team leader role or even lost it, he decided to leave the team.

He signed with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. With the German team, he was finally expected to win the Tour de France, but it didn’t happen. He did win the Vuelta, the Dauphiné, and the Tour of Catalonia once more, but he found it increasingly difficult to compete for the overall classification. He did, however, finish a strong second in this year’s Vuelta, despite a serious crash during the lead-up to the race.

He later went on to become European time trial champion on home soil, but even he doesn’t know yet whether we’ll see him wearing the champion’s jersey in a race. “Maybe I’ll just wear it at home,” the Slovenian said after his victory. His wife would like to see him continue for a while longer, and let’s be honest: given the performances he’s put in this year, it would be a shame not to see him in the peloton next year.

A number of teams would be interested in the services of the 2021 Olympic time trial champion. Lotto-Intermarché, Tudor, XDS Astana, and Pinarello–Q36.5 were all mentioned as possible future employers. Wielerflits would like to add Visma | Lease a Bike to that list. According to the Dutch site, Visma would be open to a reunion.

Whether Roglič would even be open to such a move remains to be seen. The Slovenian left the team on his own to pursue his dream: winning the Tour de France. He wasn’t able to do so with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, and he has since adjusted his ambitions. With a different approach, a return to his old team might be exactly what he needs.