Roglic: We should assume the best about the new calendar

Vuelta a España champion Primož Roglič has provided an update on his current situation, speaking during the Jumbo-Visma eCompetition virtual race. The Slovenian commented on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting his home country, as well as reaffirming his commitment to target the Tour de France.

Technical issues prevented Roglič from taking part in the team's race on the Zwift platform, won by Mike Teunissen, but he still tuned in to talk about the pandemic and his future race schedule, reports WielerFlits.

"Things are getting better here," Roglič said. "We can cycle outside, the shops are open again, and people are going to work.

"I hope everything can return to normal as soon as possible. My family is doing well, everyone is healthy. It's nice to spend more time with them."

As for the revised WorldTour calendar, Roglič's goals remain the same as they were before the pandemic shook up the season. He'll return to the Tour de France for the third time to target the general classification. Roglič said he is assuming the best about the race going ahead as planned by the UCI.

"I look forward to [the Tour]. There will be some improvisation so we'll see what it will be," he said. "But it's good that there is now a calendar. Now we can work towards that. I hope there will be a Tour, but it is not up to me to determine if this race will continue. You should always assume the best. It would be nice if people could enjoy the race."

The team's head of performance Mathieu Heijboer also talked about the August-November WorldTour calendar, adding that the condensed schedule would make it impossible for a number of his riders to stick to their race plans.

"We had some riders who were going to do two Grand Tours. Now it's not possible to combine the Giro and the Vuelta," said Heijboer. "A combination of the Giro and the Tour is also very difficult because they come in quick succession. In principle, we will work with the Tour selection as we presented it. Otherwise, we will have to go to the drawing board again.

"We don't know where everyone is, form-wise. Normally you have more races to prepare. Now that will be a bit more uncertain, but we are convinced that we can reach a very high level through training."