Primož Roglič has yet to decide whether he will ride the Giro d’Italia or Tour de France in 2023, but he has suggested that he will follow a lighter race programme in the opening phase of the season.
The Slovenian has only recently returned to training on the road after undergoing shoulder surgery in October. He is currently at a Jumbo-Visma training camp in Denia, but a decision on his Grand Tour plans for 2023 is not likely to be made public before the New Year.
“I don’t know when I’ll get back to racing, maybe in March. I’m very far behind,” Roglič told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “2023 is a mystery: I don’t know if I’ll do the Giro or the Tour or the Vuelta, there’s no point in saying it.
"In January, we’ll understand more. I’ll certainly do a totally different programme, with fewer races in spring, and I’ll be better for the summer.”
Roglič underwent bone graft surgery in October to address a longstanding shoulder problem which had been exacerbated by a series of crashes.
He dislocated his right shoulder in a crash on stage 5 of this year’s Tour, and he abandoned the race at the end of the second week. He had previously dislocated the same shoulder in his crash on the final stage of Paris-Nice in 2021.
The Jumbo-Visma rider was also forced to abandon the Vuelta a España after crashing in the finishing straight of stage 17. He has not raced since and his shoulder was immobilised for eight weeks after his October surgery.
“The important thing was to get back riding before the training camp. I’m happy, I don’t have pain now. Before I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t swim,” Roglič said. “That was my first victory.”
Roglič’s standout victories three Vueltas, an Olympic gold medal and overall victories at Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Critérium du Dauphiné, but the 33-year-old acknowledged that there are still gaps on his palmarès.
“I’m missing what I haven’t won – starting with the rainbow jersey, I wouldn’t choose between the road and the time trial,” Roglič said.
“The Giro is also a race I’d like to win, like Il Lombardia. It’s too soon to say if I’ll ride the Giro in 2023, maybe it comes too soon because of the problems I’ve had. But my work at the Tour isn’t finished either.”
