Relaxed Primož Roglič gets back on the bike for Taiwan Masters Ride despite time and options for finding new team in 2027 running low

While Primož Roglič's future in cycling remains one of the major unanswered questions ahead of the 2027 season, the Slovenian seems to be unfazed as he's headed to Asia for an appearance at the Taiwan Masters Ride.

Five-time Grand Tour champion Roglic arrived in Taiwan last week as the headliner for the event, which saw him attempt to beat the KOM atop the Wuling Pass, around 200km south of Taipei.

"I think it depends on the feeling or the state you are in, no? Normally it's just fatigue, so as you are tired and the body screams 'please stop', it's just a fight with that inner voice that wants to stop. You're sad, yes, but we'll just continue without hearing it," said Roglič in a promotional video for the Taiwan Masters Ride.

"The people that you collect on the way, or they collect you, that you have around, they help the influence at the end on you. I think yes, they left a mark on me, like I said I'm always open to learn, to know more, and the more you know, the more you know that you don't know, so it's a never-ending process."

Roglič failed to beat the time, despite the help of Yen Yo Ho and Li Ting Wei, Taiwanese pro riders from Equipo Kern Pharma and Factor Racing, and four others. However, it had reportedly been weeks since the Slovenian had even ridden his bike amid his off-season holidays, and he didn't even bring his own bike with him, instead riding a grey S-Works Tarmac provided to him.

"What an incredible experience to have Primož Roglič take on one of Taiwan’s most beautiful and challenging cycling routes – the East-to-West Wuling Challenge! We also arranged six Taiwanese riders to take turns pacing him and helping him push toward the summit," read an Instagram post from Taiwanese TV anchor and cycling enthusiast Yu-Tien Wei, who also took part in the event.

"Unfortunately, he didn’t break the record this time. (Well, he hadn’t been on the bike for four whole weeks!) But seriously… is it even normal to ride like that after four weeks off the bike?!

"Watching Roglič team up with the Taiwanese riders, taking turns at the front and giving everything they had to push up the mountain, was truly an incredible and inspiring moment. More than just a challenge, it was an unforgettable ride!"

Roglič closed out the 2026 season at Il Lombardia after winning the European time trial title on home roads, having already finished second overall at the Vuelta a España behind Enric Mas in what was a remarkable recovery from being hit by a driver just a month before the start.

He turned 37 in late October, but his results proved he is more than capable of still competing with the very best. With his departure from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe confirmed earlier in the summer, the hunt for a new team began for Roglič, with Lotto-Intermarché, Pinarello Q36.5, Visma-Lease a Bike, Unibet Rose Rockets and Tudor among the teams rumoured as landing spots for Roglič in 2027.

As the weeks have ticked by into November and closer to the January 1 start of the new racing season, all news surrounding Roglič so far has pointed to him potentially retiring. Just more than a week ago, Het Laatste Nieuws reported that Lotto and Visma were both not going to happen, and Daniel Benson reported on November 4 that Pinarello was looking unlikely.

The speculation surrounding the other teams, too, had gone quiet, and there remains the question of whether Roglič actually wants to continue. In his typical style, he's been vague when answering questions about his future and his desires for a new team.

"It's beautiful, maybe I'll only wear it at home. Because we haven't decided yet what I'll do next, but no matter what, I'll wear it," said Roglič, talking about the European Champion's jersey. "It would be hard to imagine a better end to the championship."

A week later in Lombardy, he said: "You never know when is the last one. Like everything in life, it can be a bit emotional. I’m looking forward [to the race]."

Asked if he will continue to race next year, he said: "I don’t know it yet. We will see. We will see."

But as for whether he wanted to, he replied: "I think so, yes. I think I will still race."

Among active riders in the peloton, only his compatriot Tadej Pogačar has more professional victories than Roglič's 93, and as a four-time Vuelta winner, Giro d'Italia winner, and 22-time Grand Tour stage winner, he represents the old generation against the new wave of young stars, including the likes of Paul Seixas, Isaac del Toro, and Remco Evenepoel.

When he returns home from Taiwan, Roglič should have decisions to make about whether he extends his time in the sport, and whether he can still find the drive and motivation to fight through setbacks and train to compete at the highest level. In 2026, he managed to show the grit he long has, since swapping ski jumping for pro cycling in 2014, but it could end up that his last ride as a professional was on a mountain in Taiwan, not the ideal send-off for one of the modern era's great champions.

Perhaps an early trip into Slovenia on the recently announced Giro route can convince him to come back with a team where he gets the opportunity to properly bow out from the sport on his own terms, and he's also said openly that he wants to return to the Tour de France. The salary will likely be much lower than previous years if he does end up on a new team, but for the moment, retirement looks as likely a possibility as any.

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