Primož Roglič has opened up about the highs and lows of his 2023 season, contrasting the "incredible moment" where Giro d'Italia glory swung to, away, and then back to him on Monte Lussari with the "uncomfortable" intra-team situation at the Vuelta a España.
Speaking to Dutch newspaper AD just ahead of the new year and the official first days as a Bora-Hansgrohe rider, Roglič said that he had "achieved the maximum I could" with Jumbo-Visma as he looks ahead to pastures new.
The Slovenian also noted that he was looking to move on even if he had taken the Vuelta victory taken by Jumbo-Visma teammate Sepp Kuss.
"A few years earlier, I taught Jonas and Sepp everything, they still looked up to me, and now they were numbers 1 and 2 for me," he said. "We made history, and I was part of it. But even if I had won the Vuelta, I would have left. I simply have greater opportunities elsewhere to achieve what I am still fighting for. That wasn't a tough decision but rather a natural one.
"I have achieved the maximum I could with Jumbo. It got to the point where I had to leave. It doesn't detract from how happy I was on the podium in Madrid. Hopefully, I will be even happier in future photos and in a different jersey.
"That felt uncomfortable because it is my responsibility to win races," he said of the Vuelta. On the other hand, it wasn't just about me, it was also about the team. And no one deserves it more than Sepp."
Roglič now moves on after eight years at the Dutch squad, making the switch to Bora-Hansgrohe despite having a year left on his contract. He's already met up with his new teammates – including Aleksandr Vlasov, Dani Martínez and Jai Hindley – at the team's pre-season training camp.
Now, he's planning ahead for next year's Tour de France, where he'll lead his own team rather than likely play second fiddle to Visma-Lease a Bike leader and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard.
Roglič has won four Grand Tours but not yet the Tour, where he's finished fourth and second, and abandoned due to crashes on two occasions. Adding the race to his packed stage racing palmarès is his great remaining dream in the sport, though he said he'll have "no regrets" if he ends up retiring without achieving the victory.
"But if the moment doesn't come, I have no regrets," he said. "People sometimes ask, 'What would you like to change about your life?' Look how many wonderful things I have experienced. I wouldn't change anything at all."
Roglič also took time to look back at his Giro d'Italia win back in May, which saw him ship his chain during a dramatic final time trial up Monte Lussari as he overhauled Geraint Thomas to take the maglia rosa.
He won't be back in 2024, instead focussing on July, but called it an "incredible moment" as his friend, fellow former ski jumper Mitja Mežnar was handily stood in exactly the right spot to help out.
"This will always be an incredible moment. Why was Mitja there? And why did my chain fall off right there?" Roglič said. "What I felt there is so all-encompassing. I became world ski jumping champion with Mitja in 2007, and now he pushed me.
"I win the Giro at the place where we jumped that World Cup. Things like that can't be explained."
