Earlier this year, Primož Roglič teased his summer plans, with the door seemingly left open for a surprise Tour de France appearance in what was a four-month gap in his racing schedule.
However, the Slovenian veteran will not be heading to France next month. Instead, his summer has been filled by an appearance at the Tour de Suisse and, this weekend, a return to the Slovenian National Championships for the first time in six years.
The Slovenian Cycling Federation announced the news on Wednesday, stating that Roglič is set to take on both the time trial and road race this week, having not raced either since 2020.
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He'll aim to win a second career Slovenian time trial title on Thursday, competing against 2025 Giro d'Italia Next Gen champion Jakob Omrzel and reigning champion Mihael Stajnat on a 28.8km course between Karteljevo and Poljane pri Mirni Peči. He won the title back in 2016 and finished second behind Tadej Pogačar in 2020.
On Sunday, he'll aim to win the road title for the second time, having triumphed ahead of Pogačar on his last appearance in 2020. The start list has yet to be confirmed, but reigning champion Omrzel is expected to line up.
Other riders expected to race include several more Bahrain Victorious riders, Matej Mohorič, Matevž Govekar, Roman Ermakov, and Žak Eržen, plus Domen Novak (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Spanish journalist Daniel Arribas reported that Pogačar had planned to compete in both races, but his partner Urška Zigart's injury has led him to rethink his run-up to the Tour de France.
"Tadej Pogačar had planned to race the Slovenian National Championships (road race and time trial) rather than head to Isola 2000, but Urška Žigart's crash changed his plans," Arribas wrote.
Pogačar's plans remain up in the air following his partner Žigart's crash at the Tour de Suisse, which left her with a fractured jaw. His teammates are at their altitude training camp on Isola 2000, but so far, he has stayed at home in Monaco with Zigart.
Roglič, then, should line up among the favourites in Slovenia as he searches for his first win of the season.
The 36-year-old's 2026 to date has seen him take on a host of stage races through the spring and early summer, with his top result being fifth at Tirreno-Adriatico and third at the March one-dayer Milano-Torino.
With no Giro or Tour on his schedule, Roglič is expected to line up at the Vuelta a España later this year, where he'll lead Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in pursuit of a record-breaking fifth overall victory.
