Roglic Targets Sixth Grand Tour Win

Primoz Roglic eyes Giro d'Italia victory without Tadej Pogacar. The grueling race features 52,200m of climbing, including challenging stages and gravel roads.

Primoz Roglic aims to win his sixth Grand Tour title at the Giro d'Italia, with a chance to claim the top spot due to Tadej Pogacar's absence.

Roglic has often been overshadowed by Pogacar, who has dominated the sport in recent years. Roglic's rivalry with Pogacar dates back to their 2020 Tour de France battle, where Pogacar's win left Roglic heartbroken.

Primoz Roglic, 35, is a strong contender for the pink jersey, aiming for his second Grand Tour win with the support of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. The team boasts talented riders like Jai Hindley, the 2022 winner, and Dani Martinez, last year's runner-up.

Roglic's focus is on reaching peak form, saying, “The goal is just to reach my best shape. The results will be what they will be... I don't know how fast all the other best guys will go, you know, but looking at myself, what I can strive for is to try to build myself into the best Primoz that there was... Inside I still feel 20.”

Primoz Roglic is targeting both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this year. The Tour de France is particularly significant for him, as he narrowly missed winning it in 2020.

Roglic showed strong form by winning the Tour of Catalonia in March, where he edged out Juan Ayuso on the final stage in Barcelona. This victory demonstrates his readiness for the Grand Tours ahead.

Challenging Terrain Ahead

Juan Ayuso will be a key rival to Primoz Roglic at the Giro d'Italia. Ayuso, a teammate of Tadej Pogacar at UAE, has already tasted success in Italy this season with his win at Tirreno-Adriatico.

There was a loud and very nice reception for the #Giro 2023 winner, Olympic Champion, 4-time Vuelta winner and simply amazing Primož Roglič and his teammates @RBH_ProCycling at the #GirodItalia Team Presentation! #ifeelsLOVEnia pic.twitter.com/PBvoWIBy0X

— Feel Slovenia (@SloveniaInfo) May 7, 2025

The Giro will pose a significant challenge, featuring 52,200 meters of climbing over 3,413 kilometers. This is over 10,000 meters more climbing than the 2024 edition. The final stage will uniquely pass through the Vatican, honoring Pope Francis.

The Giro d'Italia will start in Albania before moving into mainland Italy. The third stage, which begins and ends in Vlore, is expected to be challenging.

The race's final stages will feature significant climbing, particularly in stages 19, which includes three category-one climbs over 166km from Biella to Champoluc. Most of the additional 10km of climbing for this year's race is concentrated in the last few stages before the finish in Rome.

The penultimate stage features the challenging Colle delle Finistre climb, which includes 8km of gravel roads, before the peloton reaches Sestiere near the Italian-French border.

Heavy snowfall last month raised concerns about the climb's viability, but the roads have been cleared, and preparations are underway to ensure the climb is safe for riders, who will face it in an exhausted state after a grueling final week.