Primož Roglič will race against fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogačar for the first time this season as he extends his 2023 campaign to include the Giro dell'Emilia and Il Lombardia.
However, Jonas Vingegaard has confirmed his season is over, while newly crowned Vuelta a España champion Sepp Kuss is also planning to take a break and return to Durango for a few weeks after completing all three Grand Tours in the last five months.
Roglič won the Giro d’Italia, Tirreno-Adriatico, the Volta a Catalunya and the Vuelta a Burgos this year, before finishing third overall at the Vuelta a España.
He'll continue training this week and quickly turn his attention to the end-of-season Italian Classics, challenging Pogačar for the first time since the 2022 Tour de France at the Giro dell'Emilia on Saturday, October 30, with Remco Evenepoel a possible additional rival at Il Lombardia a week later.
The Giro dell'Emilia ends on the San Luca climb above Bologna, which will host the finish of stage 2 of the 2024 Tour de France. Jumbo-Visma have still to confirm their leaders for next year's Tour de France but Roglič sees the Grand Boucle as the only goal left in his career.
"This season was the best in my career. Like wine, the older I get, the better I get. It's never boring because there are a lot of young riders emerging that push us to keep working and moving forward," Roglič told Slovenian broadcaster RTV after the Vuelta ended in Madrid.
"There are no three-week races this season but there are still some one-day races left and I’ll ride Emilia before Il Lombardia."
Vingegaard enjoyed a chicken burger given to him by Danish television in Madrid and confirmed his 2023 season is over.
He has raced for 67 days in 2023, kicking off his season in late February by winning O Gran Camiño. He then took third behind Pogačar and David Gaudu at Paris-Nice but went on to win Itzulia Basque Country, the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Tour de France and was second at the Vuelta a España behind Kuss.
"My season is over. I need to relax," Vingegaard told Ekstra Bladet, promising his wife and young daughter a holiday during a three-week spell off the bike.
"It's all over for me. I'm taking my break now and relaxing. We are going on holiday. I'm looking forward to enjoying the off-season and enjoying some time with my family."
