Primož Roglič was one of the special guests at the presentation of the 2024 Giro d'Italia route in Trento, and the event gave him a chance to relive the emotions of winning the Corsa Rosa.
A special highlights video recalled his race and especially the decisive time trial to Monte Lussari, including the moment he dropped his chain on the steep climb but then raced on to victory and celebrated with his teammates and thousands of Slovenian fans who had flocked over the nearby border to cheer Roglič to victory.
"Watching the video of my Giro d'Italia win brought back a lot of beautiful memories. It's nice to remember nice things," Roglič said on stage during the event.
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"Winning the Giro was one of the most emotional days of my career. It was incredible. It's nice to live it all again and be part of it all."
Roglič is not expected to defend his Giro d'Italia victory in 2024, focusing on the Tour de France after his transfer from Jumbo-Visma to Bora-Hansgrohe. He has won the Vuelta a España but the Tour de France has so far proved out of reach, with crashes wrecking his recent attempts.
"Obviously, I know what is missing from my palmares," Roglič said after winning the Giro d'Italia.
Roglič has still to sit down with the Bora-Hansgrohe management and new teammates like 2011 Giro winner Jai Hindley, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Aleksandr Vlasov and new signings Dani Martinez and Sergio Higuita.
Bora-Hansgrohe believe that Roglič can help them step up and target victory at the Tour de France but final goals and race programmes have still to be decided.
"I've changed teams and know nothing about what we'll do in 2024 and have no personal plans. First things first, now it's winter," Roglič told Cyclingnews.
However, he saw the logic of riding the Giro d'Italia and suggested Tadej Pogačar should ride it sooner than later.
"For sure, he should ride the Giro one day," Roglič told Cyclingnews. "We feel it's our race a little bit too, and so it's always beautiful to ride it for us."
"One of the good reasons to ride the Giro d'Italia is that when you win the first of the three Grand Tours, you can relax, you've already done a good job," he suggested with rider logic.
Roglič studied the 2024 Giro d'Italia route and noticed how race director Mauro Vegni had reduced the stage distances and the amount of climbing by 20% compared to 2023.
He predicted the final mountain stage would decide the winner in 2024.
"It's a bit of a different Giro route. There are hard finishes and a lot of time trials. No matter how long the stages are, the Giro is always a big challenge," Roglič suggested.
"The more towards the end you go, the more decisive the stages are. For sure, the Monte Grappa stage will be where the riders who want to win will have to go for it for the last time."
Roglič will be a guest at the Gazzetta dello Sport Festival of Sport on Saturday morning. Any family holidays will come later in the autumn after a get-together with his new Bora-Hansgrohe teammates.
"We're still in the planning phase. Then a holiday and then I need to make it all happen all over again in 2024," he said, highlighting the annual routine of every Grand Tour winner and every professional rider.
