Primož Roglič will not take part in any races in the lead-up to this year's Tour de France, opting to skip both the Tour de Suisse and Critérium du Dauphiné.
The Jumbo-Visma leader, who finished second at last year's Tour, will finish his spring campaign with next week's Ardennes Classics before turning his attention to preparation for the July Grand Tour.
Roglič has so far raced Paris-Nice, finishing 15th after taking three stage wins and crashing out of the lead on the final day, and Itzulia Basque Country, which he won, beating Tour de France rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) by over a minute.
He'll race Amstel Gold Race alongside Wout van Aert on Sunday before heading to La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday and then Liège-Bastogne-Liège next Sunday. After La Doyenne, he won't race again until the Tour kicks off in Brest on June 26.
Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Frans Maassen explained the decision to L'Equipe, saying that time away from racing would keep Roglič fresh for the Tour and the road race at the Tokyo Olympics, which comes six days after the Tour ends.
"He raced a lot last year," he said, citing Roglič riding the Tour and Vuelta a España in 2020. "These two months without racing will allow him to store up some freshness to be able to ride the Tour de France and the Olympic Games, which are a big objective for him.
"This is what we have decided and, unless something happens, there will be no change."
Roglič, who last year crashed out of the lead at the Dauphiné and was forced to spend 10 days off the bike, severely compromising his Tour build-up, will instead take on an Alpine training camp during much of June.
He'll head to Tignes at the end of May and will be joined by his Jumbo-Visma teammates when the Dauphiné concludes in Les Gets on June 6. The squad will remain at training camp until June 20.
