Any Slovenian prospect who emerges as a top climber will naturally be compared to the two modern greats still operating in the peloton, five-time Grand Tour winner Primož Roglič and five-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar, but for Jakob Omrzel, who announced himself with a victory at the Vuelta a España on Thursday, he’s more interested in forging his own path.
In quite stunning fashion and with the help of Bahrain Victorious teammates Pello Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago, Omrzel stormed to his maiden Grand Tour win on debut in Calar Alto, conquering the summit finish and breaking Pogačar’s benchmark to become the youngest Slovenian GT stage winner in history.
In reality, anyone following the under-23 ranks would have known Omrzel’s name already, a winner of Paris-Roubaix juniors and the Giro d’Italia Next Gen just last season, but a win at the Vuelta, only his second pro victory after claiming the elite Slovenian road race title in 2025, propels him into new ground.
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Not only this, but his success from the breakaway has jumped him right up into the top six overall at the Vuelta a España, and with more high mountains to come, he could well hold on for a top GC finish at the first attempt.
Omrzel was triumphant on stage 12 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Omrzel’s path to the WorldTour wasn’t completely plain sailing, suffering a life-threatening crash at the Giro della Lunigiana in September 2024 before he joined Bahrain Victorious’ development team and really found his feet.
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Already mixing it with the seniors last year at 19, Omrzel has gone from strength to strength in 2026 as a 20-year-old, and he looks set to be a name to follow closely in the coming years, alongside the likes of Paul Seixas and Lorenzo Finn.
Cyclingnews sat down with him back in the off-season ahead of the Grand Canaria 365 Gran Fondo last year to find out more about how he came to be a top climbing prospect, and why it’s important that he forges his own story, instead of one already written by Pogačar – who he trained with that week – and Roglič.
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A lot can happen in 10 months though, with his confidence, assuredness, and maturity as a rider shining through on stage 12 of the Vuelta, and back when we spoke, he wasn’t even thinking about Grand Tours, let alone winning a stage of one. But the path to this recent success was clear even then, as a talent rapidly on the rise, and from one of the nations we’ve come to see dominate modern cycling.
Cyclingnews: How did you get into cycling in Slovenia when you were younger? Where did that start for you?
Jakob Omrzel: It started in fifth grade for me because my brother was cycling at the time, and for me I was always looking at my brother and wanting to do things that he was doing at the time. So yeah, sure, he dragged me into cycling, and the story continues from that on.
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CN: And was that only on the road straight away, or did you try other disciplines like mountain biking?
JO: No, no, no, road. It was always road because in Slovenia it’s more like road. I mean, it was developed more for road, but now OK, MTB is also getting bigger. But still, it was for sure always the love for road for me.
CN: You’re one of the rising young stars of the peloton and would have grown up watching Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar; were these guys your icons already growing up?
JO: Yeah, of course. I mean, it’s really nice because not long ago, like three, four years, I was just like looking at them and, really, these guys are incredible, and now I’m finding myself in this position that I can be with them, train with them and race with them; it’s just incredible. For sure, the dream’s coming true.
Omrzel represented Slovenia in the 2025 World Championships (Image credit: Getty Images)
CN: With Tadej, you’ve spent some time training and riding with him. What’s that been like for you? Maybe strange, but also exciting?
JO: Exactly this. It’s really strange because you’re with the best guy in the world that you always watch on TV. But in the end, OK, now here we are, and for sure we also need to be competitive – maybe not on that level. It’s just incredible to be with these guys and to learn from them.
CN: How would you describe yourself as a rider?
JO: I would say I’m more of an endurance guy. If the race is longer, for me, it’s better. Also, on the bike, sometimes I can get nervous, but I think this is totally normal because of adrenaline and everything. I would say otherwise I’m a pretty calm guy, but yeah, sometimes it’s stressful.
CN: I think you’ve made a point of saying you’re not trying to be the next Tadej or the next Primož; you want to be yourself. Why was that important for you as a GC prospect to just be you?
JO: Because you get all this pressure from the media or from other people who are saying, ‘Oh, you’re a new Pogačar, you’re a new Roglič,’ and for me, I mean, I don’t like this because I am what I am, and I don’t know what I’m going to do.
I’m still young. I’m 19 [now 20]. Everything can change, but it’s all OK if you are going in the right direction and if you have the people around you who are supporting you and are just leading you in the right way. I think that I want to write my own story. So we’ll see how Jakob’s story will end. But for sure, I just want to be myself. I will build this up for myself, and that’s it.
CN: How did you know you were ready for the WorldTour after just one year on Bahrain Victorious’ development team?
JO: When I started at U23 level, I was always feeling confident, and basically, in my first year, I achieved a lot, and together with the team, we thought ‘OK, it’s now time to go up a level and try there’. Also, already [in 2025] I was introduced to it, and you have all the benefits of the highest level. cyclist. I think this was just the right step forward, but sure, we’ll see.
Omrzel was the Slovenian national champion in 2025 (Image credit: Getty Images)
CN: How have you found the transition into the WorldTour squad?
JO: The change is very big. You can feel it because there are a lot more people that are involved in this than in devo; it’s just a different level. I wouldn’t say different mentality because we’re still the same guys, but everything is more serious. You need to be 100% in everything, but in devo, I was nowhere near it. Now everything is a bit more specific, and we’re doing things that are just different, but for me, this is something incredible, something to learn each day.
CN: There’s a big Slovenian influence on this team, but also throughout the peloton now. What’s the best advice you’ve had from guys like Matej Mohorič or even Tadej Pogačar on a different team?
JO: For sure, that I’m young, and I still need to be calm and just work, work, and work my way up. Sometimes be quieter and just listen to other people and learn, learn, learn, and eventually, for sure, if you learn enough, you’ll get the result you want. Just this: be smart.
CN: Do you feel that there is pressure for you to win immediately in the WorldTour as one of these top talents, or has the team allowed room for you to be patient?
JO: I can feel that in my team there was no pressure because it was not planned that I would go in the WorldTour [this year]. It was just a natural process that I went up; no one was really pushing me.
I put pressure on myself for results because I could see that I have the potential to win, and that’s it. But also now for WorldTour, it’s nothing like ‘you need to win’. We will develop, and we’ll try as much as we can, but without harming my body and just go with the flow.
CN: There’s loads to pick from, but what’s the one race you dream of winning?
JO: For sure, the Tour de France; that is the dream.
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