'A good base to build on' — Primož Roglič and Bora-Hansgrohe react to Paris-Nice

Attacking on the final climb of stage 6 at Paris-Nice, Primož Roglič was up and away in Bora-Hansgrohe colours, soloing ahead of the rest of the field and looking to put on a show at the race to the sun.

Two days later, however, the Slovenian was the one under the cosh, spat out of the back of the frontrunners and forced to settle for 10th place overall. It was not the final weekend that he would have wished for in his first race of the season, but he remained sanguine after the end of stage 8.

"It is a completely new environment," he told Cycling Pro Net, referring to his transfer to Bora-Hansgrohe over the winter. "My life doesn’t really change if I win Paris-Nice. Also from that perspective, I want to give myself time for all the processes and not to push them.

"For sure one point was just getting used to everything, to the guys, to the stuff. And another one definitely the race rhythm. It was my first race. Obviously, I really need it. From now on I think it is a good base to build up."

Similarly, sports director Patxi Vila was quick to provide positive feedback for his team's new undisputed leader.

"Primož, I think he showed during the week, especially yesterday, that he is at a good level," he said via Bora-Hansgrohe's social media channels on Sunday evening.

Read more: Primož Roglič makes first attack in Bora-Hansgrohe colours, but move fails to stick

In his interview, Roglič certainly cut an upbeat figure, happy enough to reflect on the regrets of the race and confident enough to avoid too much disappointment.

Characteristically quick to provide a quip, the Slovenian shared a joke with reporters ahead of the penultimate stage, noting that he was "so far back, that I don't even know who is the leader or how is the standings."

Seemingly happy in his new surroundings, then, but not for the first time in his illustrious career, the final stage of Paris-Nice may have left somewhat of a sour taste in the mouth of the 34-year-old.

Roglič struggles in the cold and wet on final day

© Getty Images

Roglič was more of a follower than an aggressor for much of Paris-Nice

After a middling performance in the team time trial that saw Roglič put a number of his teammates in difficulty, and having missed the decisive three-up attack on stage 7, Bora-Hansgrohe had an uphill task heading into the final stage on Sunday. The quest to close down Roglič's 46-second deficit to the podium was not helped by the torrential rain that battered the race on stage 8.

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With Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) notoriously aggressive on the Côte de Peille, throwing jab after jab before one big haymaker, Roglič's teammate Aleksandr Vlasov responded well, but the team leader could only muster the legs to form part of a chasing group among less distinguished riders such as Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) and Cristian Scaroni (Astana Qazaqstan).

Ahead of the Côte de Quatre-Chemins, the final climb of this year's Paris-Nice, Roglič was dropped once more and forced to suffer like a downed heavyweight throughout the final 25km to cross the line over four minutes down on the stage winner, Evenepoel.

"When Matteo and Remco attacked, Aleks was in the second group chasing with McNulty and then he could bridge there," reflected Vila. "Then we had that backup plan with Primož riding well, but finally Primož didn't have the best of days.

"Today some technical mistakes cost [Roglič] a lot of energy and finally with the extreme weather conditions and with the cold, he could not be up front."

It was a chastening afternoon that relegated the 34-year-old to 10th place overall, whilst Vlasov performed admirably to follow up his stage victory from Saturday and round out Paris-Nice in fifth place overall. It is arguably Roglič's worst start to a season since 2018, but is there cause for concern?

An unusually slow start for Roglič

Roglič's era as a Grand Tour champion began in 2019 with his first Vuelta a España title, a year in which the then-Jumbo Visma rider began his campaign with the overall title and two stage wins at the UAE Tour. For each Grand Tour-winning season after this point, the 34-year-old has won a race in his first outing of the campaign.

2020 brought him the Slovenian National Championship, 2021 three stage wins at Paris-Nice and last year, three stage wins and the overall title at Tirreno-Adriatico. There was no such success for Roglič this time around.

"For sure you can say I came to Paris-Nice with the mindset to win it. Otherwise I don’t come. Yes, we didn’t succeed at this," Roglič admitted at the end of Paris-Nice.

"The second one [goal] was definitely to make a good block of intensity. So yes, I get that. I need to stay healthy. I finish it in one piece. So that is a big mark that is done, it is in the legs. On to the next ones."