Roglič becomes part of cycling elite, Mohorič with a string of good results
Ljubljana, 17 December - After showing great promise last year by becoming the first Slovenian to win a stage in the Tour de France, Slovenian cyclist Primož Roglič exploded this year, winning the Tour of the Basque Country, the Tour de Romandie and the Tour of Slovenia between April and June. But this was just the start of the season.
Ljubljana
Slovenian cyclist Primož Roglič welcomed in Slovenia after finishing fourth in the Tour de France
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
The 28-year-old member of the LottoNL-Jumbo professional team then managed to finish the Tour de France in July in fourth place overall for the best result for a Slovenian ever in the most prestigious cycling race in the world. In the process, he won the 19th, royal stage of the Pyrenees, to add to his first stage win in France in 2017.
The former ski jumper, who was third overall two stages to go and flirted with the podium finish, turned a new page in the Slovenian cycling history in the 105th Tour de France, beating Tadej Valjavec and Janez Brajkovič, who both finished ninth in 2009 and 2012, respectively.
Matej Mohorič meanwhile won the 10th and longest stage (244 km) of the Giro d'Italia in May, which was the fifth stage victory secured by a Slovenian rider in the history of the tour of Italy.
The 24-year-old former junior world and under-23 world champion, who rides for Bahrain-Merida, followed it up with the wins at the BinckBank Tour in the Benelux region in mid-August to become the fourth Slovenian to win a world series race, and at the Deutschland Tour a week later.