{"id":158551,"date":"2025-09-25T00:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T00:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/158551\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T00:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T00:48:10","slug":"meet-the-slovenian-soldier-who-is-worlds-wingman-for-pogacar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/158551\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Slovenian Soldier Who Is Worlds Wingman for Poga\u010dar"},"content":{"rendered":"

From 18-hour drives in a mini-van to the top of the cycling world: teenage buddies Primo\u017eic and Poga\u010dar reunited in Rwanda. ‘Maybe he will try to beat his 100km Zurich attack and go early.’<\/p>\n

\"EDINBURGH,<\/p>\n

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 06: (L-R) Luka Mezgec of Slovenia, Jaka Primozic of Slovenia and Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia prior to the 96th UCI Cycling World Championships Glasgow 2023, Men Elite Road Race a 271.1km one day race from Edinburgh to Glasgow \/ #UCIWT \/ on August 06, 2023 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Published September 24, 2025 09:48AM<\/p>\n

The other teams at the Rwanda worlds<\/a> would do well not to mess with the teammate of Tadej Poga\u010dar, Jaka Primo\u017ei\u010d,<\/a> during Sunday\u2019s road race.<\/p>\n

Aside from racing his bike hard on the UCI Continental circuit through the year, he is a part-time soldier in the Slovenian army\u2019s sports unit.<\/p>\n

Professional cycling teams might talk about planning a race like a military operation; he has done the real thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe slept in tents in the mountains. We do some shooting, we\u2019re driving with tanks,\u201d the 26-year-old tells Velo.<\/p>\n

From cycling cranks to army tanks<\/p>\n

Pushing his end-of-season energy to the limit, every October or November, he swaps the radioactive green kit of Slovenia for camouflage fatigues and does several days of special training.<\/p>\n

Last winter, as part of survival training, he spent four days living like a normal soldier in the middle of nowhere, pitching tents, catching fish and baking potatoes on a fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey showed us how to kill a snake,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt was zero degrees and raining in the night so I didn\u2019t sleep a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nPrimo\u017ei\u010d is in good company in the army\u2019s sport unit, alongside numerous leading Slovenian sportspeople such as Olympic champion judoka Andrea Le\u0161ki and former world champion discus thrower Kristijan \u010ceh.<\/p>\n

The experience can be an eye-opener for some athletes, who are used to a cushy life and comfy hotels on their circuits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to see this stuff, especially for the young guys who are a bit spoiled,\u201d Primo\u017ei\u010d says.<\/p>\n

Primo\u017ei\u010d also features in occasional publicity events or congresses for the army through the year. \u201cI think sportspeople get more respect: everybody listens to us explaining how the Slovenian army works and what he do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He clarifies \u2013 he has ridden in a tank, but has not driven one (yet).<\/p>\n

It probably handles quite differently to his lightweight Hrinkow road bike.<\/p>\n

Bike racer first, soldier second
\n\"\"Jaka Primo\u017ei\u010d during the 2024 Worlds road race in Switzerland. (Photo by Joan Cros \u2013 Corbis\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Primo\u017ei\u010d joined the army\u2019s sports unit back in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur country is helping athletes with employment. Some sports are really poor so this helps them quite a bit,\u201d he tells Velo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was younger, it was really, really helpful. It\u2019s still really nice to have some kind of other income.\u201d<\/p>\n

His day job is as a bike racer, even if Primo\u017eic rides for a much more modest salary and squad than the likes of his teammates in Rwanda, such as Poga\u010dar, Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d and Matej Mohori\u010d.<\/p>\n

He is part of Team Hrinkow Advarics, an Austrian-registered team in the UCI Continental division (the sport\u2019s third tier), racing predominantly category 2 races.<\/p>\n

Mini-van memories from Poga\u010dar\u2019s homeboy
\n\"\"Primo\u017ei\u010d takes part in the under-23 time-trial at the 2019 worlds. (Photo by Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u2018Pogi\u2019 and \u2018Poco\u2019, the nickname many of his team-mates call him by, go a very long way back. Born in December 1998, three months after the Slovenian superstar, Primo\u017ei\u010d is of similar weight and height.<\/p>\n

The pair were both rival climbers in their teenage racing days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty rough,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were enemies when we raced in Slovenia and [over the border] in Italy, but with the national team, we were best friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

They raced internationally for the Slovenian national team all over Europe, taking mammoth journeys in a mini-van to events like the junior Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour de l\u2019Avenir.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you asked Tadej about that, he would just laugh. We were living there. We drove 18 hours to Belgium in it, we didn\u2019t have money for plane tickets,\u201d Primo\u017ei\u010d recalls.<\/p>\n

\nPrimo\u017ei\u010d had the beating of Poga\u010dar on numerous occasions as a junior. Finishing in the top 10 at the junior worlds road race and time-trial in 2016, he was also briefly ranked number on Pro Cycling Stats\u2019 international junior rankings.<\/p>\n

However, the tables turned when they raced as elites, starting in 2017.<\/p>\n

His performances as an under-23 rider were damaged by mononucleosis, though he was part of his friend\u2019s 2018 Tour de l\u2019Avenir winning team.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar\u2019s star has only kept rising over the last decade, though Primo\u017ei\u010d says he is little-changed by the fame and success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still talk to Tadej every now and then. He sends me reels on Instagram and jokes. He\u2019s a really nice guy, I can\u2019t say a bad thing about him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just like old times for Pogi
\n\"Poga\u010dar\"Primo\u017ei\u010d (furthest right) celebrates his teammate\u2019s sensational win at the 2024 worlds in Zurich. (Photo: ABRICE COFFRINI\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Slovenia have experience and firepower in their arsenal in Rwanda, with Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d, Matej Mohori\u010d, Domen Novak and Luka Mezgec also lining up alongside Primo\u017ei\u010d and Poga\u010dar in the nine-rider team for the elite men\u2019s road race.<\/p>\n

Having had his injections and taken malaria tablets with him, this will be Primo\u017ei\u010d\u2019s third time at the elite world championships. He also competed in the 2022 and 2024 races, aware of how good the vibes are at worlds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nicest thing is Slovenia is really small. All the cyclists know each other. It\u2019s really nice to speak Slovenian at the dinner table and everywhere you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

With friend \u017diga Jerman also on hand as Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s soigneur, there is another talented Slovenian ex-racer from their \u201cclass of 1998\u201d to add to the relaxed atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cTadej feels when I\u2019m there, he\u2019s at home,\u2019 Primo\u017ei\u010d says. \u201cAlso with \u017diga there, they have an hour and a half for his jokes, from 10 years back. We can talk stupid stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

An 150km Poga\u010dar attack in Rwanda? \u2018I hope so\u2019
\n\"Vermaerke\"Poga\u010dar tears through the lead group on the way to his first rainbow jersey. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar even called his own escape to victory in Zurich some 12 months ago \u2018stupid\u2019, but his unexpected 100km raid paid off as he won the rainbow jersey, stunning fans and rivals.<\/p>\n

On the Swiss roads, Primo\u017ei\u010d protected Poga\u010dar\u2019s back wheel early in the race and helped Rogli\u010d. After doing his job and abandoning the race, he was waiting for the winner beyond the finish line to embrace him.<\/p>\n

So, what is the plan in Kigali\u2019s 267.5km race on Saturday? A 150-kilometer move?<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope so, less work for me!\u201d the Slovenian says. \u201cMaybe he will try to beat himself again and go early,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

With 5,500 meters of climbing around the Rwandan capital, the route could be even more selective than the Swiss suffer-fest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really depends on the other teams: I think everybody knows what our tactics are,\u201d Primo\u017ei\u010d says. \u201cIf the other teams get nervous and they start to attack, we have to control that in some way,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Chasing more gold at the end of his rainbow spell
\n\"Pogacar\"\u00a0(Photo: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Another rainbow jersey for the dominant force in road racing would give Primo\u017ei\u010d a happy ending to his disastrous season.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old broke his collarbone and pelvis in March at the Tour of Taiwan when in the virtual race lead, missing several months of racing.<\/p>\n

Whatever happens, Sunday\u2019s race is not set to be his last worlds of the season. Mixing both his jobs, Primo\u017ei\u010d is expected to take part in the Military World Championships cyclo-cross event for Slovenia in late November.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even have the bike for it, I need to get that first,\u201d he says, laughing.<\/p>\n

For now, helping his old friend to retain his rainbow jersey in Rwanda is the priority.<\/p>\n

You can read more about Jaka Primo\u017ei\u010d and his insights into Tadej Poga\u010dar in Andy McGrath\u2019s biography of the four-time Tour de France champion. Tadej Poga\u010dar: Unstoppable<\/a>, published by Bloomsbury, is out in November 2025.<\/p>\n