Jumbo-Visma's veteran climber Robert Gesink has said that "cycling fans will be the biggest winners" of Primož Roglič's move from the Dutch squad to Bora-Hansgrohe this winter.
The Dutchman, who played a key role in assisting Roglič to his three Vuelta a España wins from 2019 to 2021, called the transfer a "logical" move for his former teammate, who makes the switch after eight years at Jumbo-Visma.
Speaking to the Dutch magazine Ride, Gesink indicated that he harboured no ill will towards Roglič over the Slovenian's departure, even going as far as to say that he hopes the 34-year-old succeeds in his quest to win the Tour de France.
"Roglič's departure to Bora-Hansgrohe is no real surprise to me," Gesink told Ride, via an excerpt published in WielerFlits. "Primož has won almost everything in stage racing in his career, except the one big prize, the Tour de France.
"With his drive, it's actually logical that he would want to do everything he could for another two years to get that top prize. If I let the cycling enthusiast in me speak, I actually hope he succeeds in that endeavour. What a wonderful story it would be if, after all these years with so many big wins, he now adds that missing yellow jersey to his palmarès."
Along with wins at the Vuelta and Giro d'Italia, the latter coming this season, Roglič has racked up WorldTour stage race wins over the years, with 10 wins including Paris-Nice, the Tour de Romandie, and the Critérium du Dauphiné filling the honour roll.
He leaves behind Jumbo-Visma having delivered 74 wins for the Dutch team since turning pro with them in 2016. Now, the team – known as Visma-Lease a Bike from next season – will look to double Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard and Vuelta winner Sepp Kuss to lead the fight against Roglič as well as Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
"Primož is one of the four riders who are a certainty for success or top placings in the stage races," Gesink said. "Our team would have liked to keep two of those riders, which is why they were also excited about the possible arrival of Remco Evenepoel in a merger with Soudal-QuickStep. That didn't work out.
"And yes, we still have a strong block of riders who are well-attuned to each other. We've already proven that the team can win a grand tour without Primož – at the Tour last season."
Gesink went on to say that battling against teammate-turned-rival Roglič will require the team to change tack next July, especially given the fact he'll enjoy the backing of a strong squad including the likes of Aleksandr Vlasov, Dani Martínez, Jai Hindley, and Emanuel Buchmann going forward.
But the 37-year-old, who is set to call time on a 16-year pro career next winter, said that he's confident that his team will be more than up to the challenge.
"To compete against Primož will require a different dynamic. He also has a strong block around him at Bora-Hansgrohe," he said. "There's no other rider who knows what he wants and can use his experience so well.
"However, I'm also convinced that our team will continue to rely on its own strength, and we won't adjust our course to an opponent – even if it is Primož. It's going to be an interesting summer. The neutral cycling fans will be the biggest winners of Roglič's transfer."
