When Primož Roglič swapped Visma-Lease a Bike for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in 2024, it felt like a partnership a long time in the making. The Slovenian had almost signed with the squad as a neo-pro before going to Jumbo-Visma, and now the pairing promised to leave its mark on the big races.
Since signing for the team Roglič has won a record-equalling fourth Vuelta a España as well as a handful of stage races, and while there have been plenty of lowlights along the way too, at this month’s Tour de France he looked a man unleashed, with several notable attacks and zero crashes meaning he made it all the way to the finish for the first time since 2020.
However, with new names coming to the fore at Red Bull, the question remains: where does that leave Roglič going forward?
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Is it Rogl-over?
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The future could well be now for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Florian Lipowitz’s impressive third place at the Tour de France has undoubtably cemented his place in the team hierarchy. Even in the face of his relative inexperience in Grand Tours compared to Roglič he has an extra edge thanks to his youth and ability to develop further.
That’s not to say Roglič can’t win more Grand Tours himself. After a short absence following a three-year period of dominance at the Vuelta a España, he notched a podium in 2023 then another victory last season. The field might not be the same calibre as the Tour de France with no Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard (most years), but you have to be in it to win it. He won the Giro d’Italia back in 2023 too and his race this year was marred by crashes until his eventual abandon.
At the Tour de France he looked rejuvenated. Maybe it was the lack of pressure, maybe it was his care-free attitude, whatever it was he managed to stay upright throughout the whole race and rode into strong form, even putting in huge efforts on back-to-back mountain days. Even if it didn’t lead to his own success – he ended up losing 12 minutes on the final mountain stage – it helped put pressure on Oscar Onley and Picnic-PostNL to help secure Lipowitz’s podium and white jersey push.
Yet even in Italy a new hope is waiting in the wings with ample time to grow like Lipowitz. Giulio Pellizzari was signed to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe after a glittering performance in the 2024 Giro d’Italia as the youngest rider in the race but the first to crest the Cima Coppi – the race’s highest peak. In the 2025 race he managed to finish sixth overall after sacrificing the first half of the race to work for a struggling Roglič. If he had been a protected rider from the start a podium could’ve been well within his reach.
Then there’s the news from Gazzetta dello Sport‘s Ciro Scognamiglio that Remco Evenepoel is on the verge of signing for the team. That move would push Evenepoel, who won the Vuelta a España in 2022 and finished on the podium of the Tour de France in 2024, to a team with greater GC firepower to support his own ambitions. He’s a huge talent. At just 25 years of age, he already has Olympic, World and national titles in both the road race and time-trial, and, outside of a tough 2025 Tour, has been steadily improving his GC capability.
Predicting the future
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So what are the options for Roglič post-2025 in a team that seem to be adding more cooks to the kitchen? Assuming retirement is off the cards – and there’s no reason to suggest he is close to calling time on his career – he could remain as a loyal domestique for his younger teammates. This would mean giving up on winning any more Grand Tours, despite still having the ability, and probably the desire, to challenge for the top step of the podium.
Or there’s the option of moving teams. While there were rumours of a contract extension earlier in the season, nothing has been confirmed, which is of growing significance given his initial deal with Red Bull expires at the end of this year. That would mean that he is free to sign somewhere else, and there would be a lot of teams interested in his talents. If he has extended, or does in the weeks to come, a buyout would still be possible – as Red Bull are set to do with Evenepoel – but it would limit the number of suitors capable of getting a deal done.
All teams short of a bona fide GC contender would surely be interested, and that ranges from the likes of Ineos Grenadiers to Intermarché-Wanty and even top ProTeams such as Q36.5 or Tudor.
When it comes to Roglič’s future, there are plenty of choices, and from Red Bull’s perspective they’d surely be happy to save the money on his contract if his place is in doubt, however with their increased budget in the last couple of seasons they’d also likely be happy to keep his experience within the team.
Are we about to see the Slovenian in a mentor role, or will his ‘no risk, no glory’ mantra take him elsewhere? Let us know what you think he should do.
