\n\u201cThe only logical step was WorldTour\u201d<\/p>\n
Omrzel is not easing his way into the top level \u2013 he has forced it open. The Slovenian talent won the Giro Next Gen overall in 2025, then backed it up with the elite national road title and the best young rider jerseys at both the Tour of Slovenia and the CRO Race. He raced those events as a teenager and left with confirmation that he can already live in GC company over a week of racing against pros.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main goal of the season was the Giro Next Gen, and we achieved that with overall victory \u2013 that was the biggest race for us,\u201d he explained. \u201cOther events went very well too, from the national championships to the Italian races, as well as the Tours of Slovenia and Croatia, where I won the white jerseys. Looking back, I can say the season has been more than successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bahrain Victorious clearly agreed. The original plan had been another season in the development setup. That plan is now gone. \u201cWe discussed it with the team \u2013 the sports directors, managers and staff \u2013 and based on the results we all agreed the only logical step was for me to move to the WorldTour,\u201d Omrzel revealed. \u201cFrom the start I said Bahrain Victorious suits me perfectly. It\u2019s a home environment, with home people.\u201d<\/p>\n
That \u201chome people\u201d part matters to him more than most 19-year-olds would admit publicly. He\u2019ll reunite with long-time friend Zak Erzen, the rider he grew up with at Adria Mobil, and even points out that his brother drives the team bus.<\/p>\n
\u201cZak and I are great friends \u2013 we\u2019re practically together every day \u2013 and the fact that we\u2019ll now be teammates is fantastic,\u201d he said. \u201cOur team mechanic Aljaz Zefran is also a good friend, and my brother Aljaz drives the team bus, so we\u2019re all together. It helps a lot to have that supportive environment around you when things get stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll also line up in 2026 wearing the jersey that puts a target on your back in Slovenia: the tricolour of the national champion. \u201cWearing the national champion\u2019s jersey gives you a special feeling and extra motivation. You know you\u2019re competitive, that you\u2019ve earned your place. It\u2019s an incredible feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no harm in waiting\u201d<\/p>\n
What Bahrain have not done \u2013 and what Omrzel himself is clearly resisting \u2013 is throw him straight at a three-week race.<\/p>\n
In modern cycling, teenagers winning stage races are immediately spoken about in Grand Tour terms. Omrzel is deliberately not doing that. \u201cI\u2019ll only be 20 next year, and if we look at the natural steps of development, it\u2019s too early for something like that,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I want to have a high-quality career that also lasts a long time, there\u2019s no harm in waiting a bit longer. It\u2019s better to focus on week-long races than to rush into three-week ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
He isn\u2019t thinking about a Vuelta wildcard. He\u2019s thinking about one-week stage racing \u2013 Tirreno\u2013Adriatico, Catalunya, the Tour of the Alps, Slovenia, Croatia. Races where a rider learns to carry responsibility and absorb WorldTour rhythm without being broken by it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team understands that I\u2019m still young, and riding a Grand Tour at this stage wouldn\u2019t make sense,\u201d he added. \u201cIf I express a desire to ride a particular race, they\u2019ll consider it, and they\u2019ll also respect it if I say I don\u2019t feel ready for something. It\u2019s really important to listen to your body, and our team understands that \u2013 they don\u2019t push you beyond your limits.\u201d<\/p>\n
That last line is telling. Omrzel knows he\u2019s already being talked about as the next big Slovenian GC project, but he\u2019s also aware what can go wrong in a rush. He\u2019s lived it already. When he talks about \u201cthe hardest race of the season,\u201d he doesn\u2019t pick the Giro Next Gen or Slovenia. He picks Valle d\u2019Aosta \u2013 and a day no young rider should have to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the main factor \u2013 something that completely breaks you,\u201d he said of the death of 19-year-old Samuele Privitera during the race. \u201cNot necessarily physically, but mentally above all. I learned a huge amount from that experience \u2013 about how my body reacted, and how I processed what was happening. If I had to choose, I\u2019d say it was the hardest race of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, the legs always show who belongs where\u201d<\/p>\n
For all the headlines \u2013 Baby Giro, national champion, early WorldTour promotion \u2013 the way Omrzel talks about status in the bunch is still very simple.<\/p>\n
He says older riders definitely know who he is now, and yes, they test him. \u201cThey know,\u201d he laughed. \u201cWhen we hit the climbs I\u2019m always there, and they know I\u2019m competitive. Of course they test the limits a bit because I\u2019m young \u2013 they like to prod me a little. But in the end, the legs always show who belongs where.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s already being handed leadership too. \u201cThis was my first year in that role, and it took some getting used to,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when you connect with the guys, when the atmosphere and energy in the team are good and everyone gets along, then it\u2019s not difficult at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s still happy to ride as a helper when asked \u2013 a quality that matters in a WorldTour environment where young leaders can arrive loud and entitled. \u201cAt the Tours of Slovenia and Croatia I said straight away that I was happy to help others,\u201d Omrzel added. \u201cI know it can sometimes be difficult for older riders when someone younger joins, gives instructions, or maybe rides slightly better, but I think I handle such situations well \u2013 and I also know I still have a lot to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou learn the most in crisis\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most striking thing about Omrzel is how little of his self-belief sounds performative. When he talks about form dips, he doesn\u2019t spin them. \u201cI think the moments of disappointment are the most important in sport,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen everything is going perfectly, nothing feels difficult. But in crisis moments, when you have to fight through it, that\u2019s where you learn and grow the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he simply wasn\u2019t at the right point in the form cycle after the Giro Next Gen. \u201cIt\u2019s very hard in one season to hit top shape twice,\u201d he explained. \u201cl\u2019Avenir came a bit too soon after the Giro. I didn\u2019t feel great. I had to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, quietly, he did. Things \u201cclicked\u201d again at the World Championships and carried into Croatia \u2013 exactly the pattern Bahrain Victorious wanted to see from a future GC leader.<\/p>\n
The next stepThere are two clear storylines around Jakob Omrzel now. The first is projection: a 19-year-old Slovenian climber, Baby Giro winner, national champion, soon to wear Bahrain Victorious colours at WorldTour level. You don\u2019t have to work hard to find people using the phrase \u201cthe next Tadej Pogacar<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The second is intention: he isn\u2019t in a hurry, but he isn\u2019t casual either. He\u2019s already talking like a rider who thinks in multi-year arcs, not just in podium photos. \u201cIf I want to have a high-quality career that also lasts a long time, there\u2019s no harm in waiting a bit longer,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s better to focus on week-long races than to rush into three-week ones.\u201d<\/p>\n And for all the talk of patience, there\u2019s one obvious ambition: to do what Pogacar does \u2013 not just on the bike, but in life. \u201cTadej isn\u2019t the best in the world only because he is an incredible talent,\u201d Omrzel said. \u201cHe dedicates all his time to cycling\u2026 Everything in his life is structured around cycling: diet, rest, training. He does everything at 100%. That\u2019s why he is the best rider in the world.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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