Primoš Roglic has revealed that his only race before competing in the Giro d'Italia in May will be the Volta a Catalunya next month.

The Slovenian had planned a light spring program after major shoulder surgery last October. The Slovenian rider had planned a light spring program after major shoulder surgery last October.

Roglic seemed to stick to that plan and went to the extreme of scheduling only a seven-day Volta a Catalunya, aside from a training camp, before returning to the Grand Tour in May.

Speaking to Slovenian national broadcaster RTV (opens in new tab), the 33-year-old Cic revealed that he will compete in the Catalunya race, which runs from March 20 to 26. He last competed in this race as a neo-pro six years ago.

"Before the Giro, my only race will be Catalunya. 'Right now I'm in Tenerife. Right now I'm in Tenerife.

"I only raced in Catalunya in 2016, so I'm looking forward to going back. There is a lot of climbing this year, so it will be a test to see how far I can go on the climbs."

Roglic said that shoulder problems are now a thing of the past and that the problem joint is now working as it should; he dislocated his left shoulder on the final day of Paris-Nice two years ago and on the cobbles of stage 5 of the Tour de France last year.

After winning the Vuelta a España for the third year in a row, he made the decision to undergo surgery late in the season when he fell during a battle for the red jersey on stage 16 of the Vuelta.

After the surgery, a piece of bone taken from elsewhere was added to his shoulder and his problem was solved, although he did not return to the bike until the end of the year.

"There's nothing wrong with my shoulder," he said. Everything's fine, I'm healthy. I'm able to train like everybody else."

"So far, everything is going according to plan. I will be ready for the start of the Giro. Let's see how well I can do in the Catalunya race.

Following Catalunya, where he finished second on the final stage in 2016, he will return to Mount Teide for a team training camp for the Giro. In the Giro, he will face Vuelta champion Remco Evenpoel, Joan Almeida, Alexandre Vlasov, and Geraint Thomas in three time trials totaling just over 70 km.

Roglic said that these three stages were crucial in determining the maglia rosa and that after a shoulder problem he was able to run in a time trial position.

"After Catalunya, we are planning a long preparation camp for the Giro. The Giro will be decided by the time trial."

"After the surgery, the extreme position I was in made it a little difficult to sit on the TT bike, but now I can do it normally. I will spend as much time as possible training [on the TT bike] before the Giro."