Primoz Roglic appears ready to put the number back on his back and return as a protagonist at the Vuelta a España. According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 36-year-old Slovenian should be at the start of the Spanish race that will depart from Munich on Saturday, August 22. Official confirmation from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe is still pending, but recent indications are positive and suggest that Roglic may finally take part in his major end-of-season objective, but without aiming for overall victory.

Until just a few days ago, however, his participation was far from certain. The accident at the end of July, when the Slovenian rider was hit by a car during a training session, had completely disrupted the preparation built over the previous months. Roglic was forced to withdraw from the Clásica San Sebastián and the Vuelta a Burgos, two appointments that were supposed to represent the final tests before the start of the Vuelta.

For a rider who hasn't raced since the end of June, this is no minor detail. Roglic had indeed closed the month with the Slovenian national championships, winning the time trial title and finishing fourth in the road race. He was then supposed to accumulate kilometers and intensity between San Sebastián and Burgos. The accident instead imposed an unexpected stop, leaving his Vuelta participation in doubt.

The situation, fortunately, appears to have improved in recent days. Roglic is feeling better and would be ready to reach Munich to start the race. But he will do so with completely different expectations compared to those he had at the beginning of his preparation.

The initial project was ambitious: aim for a fifth overall victory at the Vuelta a España and thus try to definitively enter the history of the race. Four victories are already in his palmares and a fifth triumph would allow him to surpass Roberto Heras, becoming the rider with the most wins in the history of the Spanish race.

Now, however, the record inevitably takes a back seat. The main objective will be to understand how his body will respond after the accident and after almost two months without competition. Roglic will have to face the Vuelta day after day, without knowing what his level will be in the first stages and especially how he will respond when the most demanding climbs arrive.

The difficulty of the mission has also increased for another reason: at the 2026 Vuelta there will be Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian superstar will return to race the Vuelta for the first time since 2019 and will inevitably start as the favorite. Roglic, on the other hand, will arrive at the start in a completely different condition from what was imagined a few weeks ago.

The long altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada, held in June, had represented a fundamental part of the preparation. Everything seemed to be proceeding according to plan, before the accident that forced the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider to stop right at the most delicate moment of the season. Now it will be necessary to start almost from scratch on a competitive level.

Roglic, however, does not want to give up on the Vuelta. The possibility of being at the start already represents a small victory after the difficulties of recent weeks. His condition will be evaluated stage by stage and only the road will tell if the 36-year-old Slovenian will be able to fight for the general classification or will have to completely modify his objectives.

The Vuelta, after all, is a race that Roglic knows like few others. He has won it four times and in Spain he has built a very important part of his sporting legend. But this time it will be necessary to forget the past and listen above all to the sensations of the present.

The countdown to Munich has now begun. If official confirmation comes from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Primoz Roglic will be at the start of the Vuelta again. Not to immediately pursue a record, but to discover, day after day, how far his body can go after the accident and only the road, this time more than ever, will be able to provide the answer.