Robert Gesink: The fan in me wants Primož Roglič to win the Tour de France

Seeing a teammate become a rival is never easy but veteran climber Robert Gesink has taken the departure of Primož Roglič with grace, writing that the fan within him would even like to see the former Jumbo-Visma rider win the Tour de France.

Roglič left Gesink and Jumbo-Visma in the off-season after signing an initial two-year contract with Bora-Hansgrohe. The transfer drew the curtain on a hugely successful period for all concerned on Jumbo-Visma with Roglič winning the 2023 Giro d’Italia and three editions of the Vuelta a España.

However, with the Tour de France still missing from his palmarès, and double Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard an automatic leader at Jumbo come July, Roglič felt it was time to consider his options. 

Read more: 'It’d be better to be teammates' – Jonas Vingegaard prepares to race against Primož Roglič

Bora-Hansgrohe stumped up the much-needed cash and the Slovenian will enjoy unrivalled support at the Tour de France next year, while Jumbo-Visma has gained a major rival in the process.

"The departure of Primož Roglič is no real surprise for me,” Gesink wrote in a column in RIDE Magazine.

“Primož has won almost everything in his career, except for that one major prize, the Tour de France. With his drive, it is actually logical that he would want to do everything he could for another two years to win that top prize. If I let the cycling enthusiast in me speak, I actually hope that he succeeds in that goal. What a wonderful story it would be if, after all these years with so many major victories, he now adds that missing yellow jersey to his list of achievements.”

Gesink went on to describe the impact Roglič had on turning Jumbo-Visma around after the team had gone through a poor spell of results. The Slovenian joined the team in 2016 as a promising time trialist but established himself as the best pound-for-pound week-long stage racer in the men’s peloton. He finished second in the 2020 Tour de France and will be a major threat in next season’s race.

“Primož is one of the four riders who is a certainty for success or short classifications. Our team would have liked to keep two of those riders, which is why, in the event of a merger with Soudal Quick-Step, they were also enthusiastic about the possible arrival of Remco Evenepoel. That did not work. And yes, there is still a strong block that is well attuned to each other. The fact that the team can win a Grand Tour even without Primož was proven in the Tour last season,” Gesink added.

“To compete against Primož later will require a different dynamic. He also has Bora-Hansgrohe a strong block around him. There is no other rider who knows so well what he wants and someone who can use his experience so well. However, I am also convinced that our team will continue to rely on its own strengths and will not adjust its course to an opponent. Even if it is Primož. It's going to be an interesting summer. The neutral cycling enthusiasts will be the biggest winners of Roglič's transfer.”