Primož Roglič has confirmed that he will leave Jumbo-Visma at the end of this season. The Slovenian announced his imminent departure when he spoke to reporters at the start of the Giro dell’Emilia in Carpi on Saturday, though he will not reveal his new team until after he has finished his season at Il Lombardia next week.
“I can just definitely confirm that I will leave the team, but we want to tell all the details to where after the races that I do,” Roglič said. “So yes, first I’m here to race. I’ll be focused here and then we’ll do the next moves.”
Although Roglič has a contract with Jumbo-Visma until the end of next season, the Slovenian had been heavily linked with a move away from the team and the rumours gathered pace in recent days following news of the proposed merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-QuickStep.
During the Vuelta a España, Jumbo-Visma dismissed the idea that Roglič would extricate himself from his contract to race elsewhere, with manager Richard Plugge repeatedly describing the Slovenian as his team’s “king.”
Roglič joined Jumbo-Visma in 2016 after his belated switch from ski jumping to cycling, and he quickly emerged as a stage racing talent at WorldTour level. He has won the Vuelta a España on three occasions and he claimed overall victory at this year’s Giro d’Italia, the first instalment of Jumbo-Visma’s clean sweep of the Grand Tours.
Roglič missed the Tour de France for the first time since 2019, with Jonas Vingegaard instead setting out as the lone leader as he defended his title. Both men subsequently lined up at the Vuelta, but overall victory would fall to their teammate Sepp Kuss, with Vingegaard placing second and Roglič finishing third in Madrid.
The presence of Vingegaard already limited Roglič’s prospects of returning to the Tour as Jumbo-Visma’s leader, while the emergence of Kuss as a GC contender and the possible arrival of Remco Evenepoel in the event of a merger with Soudal-QuickStep only heightened the internal competition.
A number of teams, including Movistar, Lidl-Trek, Ineos, Bora-Hansgrohe, Israel Premier Tech and Bahrain Victorious, have been linked with signing Roglič in recent weeks, with Ineos and Bora-Hansgrohe believed to be his most persistent suitors.
The rider’s announcement on Saturday confirms that Jumbo-Visma are now willing to part with him, with the destination set to be revealed after he finishes his season at Il Lombardia next Saturday.
Contacted by Cyclingnews on Saturday, Bora-Hansgrohe manager Ralf Denk preferred not to speak about the prospect of Roglič joining his team. "We don't commment on rumours," Denk said.
The Giro dell’Emilia is Roglič’s first race since the Vuelta, and he will face his compatriot Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) on the stiff finale of the San Luca. Roglič won the Giro dell'Emilia in 2019 and 2021, and he was also won the Giro d'Italia time trial up the San Luca in 2019.
“Of course, we’ll ty to go for it, but it’s also my first one-day race of this season,” Roglič said. “We’ll have to see how my legs are and how I’ve recovered after the Vuelta.”
The 33-year-old is also scheduled to race Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday before ending his season – and his relationship with Jumbo-Visma – at Il Lombardia next weekend.
