'Not bad for a guy with COVID' – Roglic keeps everyone guessing at Giro d'Italia

FOSSOMBRONE ITALY MAY 13 Primo Rogli of Slovenia and Team JumboVisma competes during the 106th Giro dItalia 2023 Stage 8 a 207km stage from Terni to Fossombrone UCIWT on May 13 2023 in Fossombrone Italy Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Roglic attacked the major GC favourites of the Giro on stage 8 (Image credit: Getty Images)

The whispers that had been percolating through the Giro d’Italia caravan all week began to amplify on Saturday morning. According to the rumour mill, Primož Roglič had tested positive for COVID-19, and in the latest version of the story, he had even told a GC rival as much in the middle of Friday’s stage to Gran Sasso d’Italia.

At the start of stage 8 in Terni, however, a quick scan of the bikes lined up outside the Jumbo-Visma bus showed the machine bearing Roglič’s number 141 prepared as normal for the day ahead. When Cyclingnews caught up with directeur sportif Addy Engels, he insisted that he hadn’t even been aware of the murmurs in the first place.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.