Primož Roglič is continuing his rehabilitation from the knee pain he suffered at last month's Itzulia Basque Country and will ramp up to a full training load next week, his Jumbo-Visma team has said.
The Slovenian is looking towards July's Tour de France and will head to a team training camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain, next week. He hasn't raced since finishing eighth at Itzulia in mid-April, missing the Ardennes Classics due to his knee problem.
Since then, Roglič has been on a limited training regimen with team doctors monitoring the situation as he spent time at home in Slovenia.
"We're still in the rehabilitation phase," team directeur sportif Merijn Zeeman told Het Laatste Nieuws. "The doctors and our performance coach Mathieu Heijboer are monitoring Primož's knee daily.
"His training sessions are still 'with the brake on' at the moment. We want to fully load his knee only next week."
Roglič's big season goal is now just under two months away, where he'll once again challenge countryman and two-time winner Tadej Pogačar for the Tour GC. He'll enjoy the support of one of the strongest teams in the race, with the likes of Wout van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard, and Rohan Dennis set to race for Jumbo-Visma in July.
Climbers Steven Kruijswijk and Sepp Kuss are also set to race the Tour after the team announced the bulk of their lineup earlier this year, leaving two places up for grabs.
Those riders will join Roglič in Sierra Nevada, as will Tiesj Benoot, who is likely to take one of the remaining spots. Nathan Van Hooydonck and Mike Teunissen will also join the team camp, with the pair in competition with Christophe Laporte for the final Tour squad place.
"It won't be a surprise if [Benoot] is there for the Tour start in Copenhagen," Zeeman said. "On Monday he'll leave for the Sierra Nevada with the rest of the Tour team.
"We prefer to start the preparation for the Tour with a broad selection. Suppose that in the coming weeks a set rider drops out or gets sick – then it's not desirable to replace him with someone who isn't as well-prepared."
