You have to travel 45 years later to witness an exhibition of precocity as luminous as that shown by the new prodigy of world cycling: the Slovenian Jakob Omrzel. At 20 years, five months and 13 days, the heir of Tadej Pogacar established himself at the top of the monumental astronomical observatory, as the youngest winner of one of the three great stage rounds since 1981, when the Spanish Celestino Prieto won the fourth stage of the 2019 Vuelta. Then, the Barcelona cyclist won on a day that started in Salamanca and concluded in Caceres.
Omrzel is a new precocious record-breaker. He is already the youngest Slovenian cyclist to win a stage of a grand round, surpassing Pogacar's record (20 years, 11 months and 10 days when he won the 9th stage of La Vuelta 2019, starting in Andorra and finishing in Els Cortals d'Encamp.
The youngest cyclist in the 2026 Vuelta was euphoric after winning in Calar Alto: "I'm not surprised. I know how much I've worked and I knew that sooner or later this was going to come. You have to be convinced of your own possibilities for victory to come in the first big tour that I compete in. I'm really enjoying the moment."
The young Vuelta climber also reflected his satisfaction with the work done by his team, Bahrain Victorius, which this Thursday also included Pello Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago in the good break: ''We are very good. They have been very resourceful with me and we are working very well as a team. It almost seems like we are playing Play with how well things are going for us. Obviously, it is very nice to beat Pogacar's record."
And Omrzel is the great revelation of the Vuelta. He is already sixth overall, 4.59 behind Enric Mas. "That boy is pure dynamite." A veteran analyst who has seen exhibitions of all calibers from the most superb runners in recent times already warned of his potential when the rookie stood out in the brutal sterrato day, the one in which Enric Mas challenged Tadej Pogacar, in which he finished thirteenth. He was also impressed by the cunning and resistance shown by the Slovenian in the Valdelinares mountain stage, in which he made the best break of the day and finished fourth.
At the top of the Aitana military base - one day after the fall and withdrawal of the Slovenian champion - he was fifteenth. The data supports the story. At 20 years old, he is the youngest of the participants in the round and now, having already passed the halfway point of the course, he occupies fourth place, 4.59 behind Enric. A precocious and gifted Nobel Prize winner.
The Slovenian Omrzel was born on March 21, 2006 in Novo Mesto. Due to his origin and daring, the comparison with Tadej Pogacar is inevitable, something that bothers the boy because it burdens him with extra responsibility. «I would like the world to know me as Jakob Omrzel, not as a copy of another. But it is true that I can learn a lot from Tadej, from his discipline and dedication. Pogacar is not the best in the world just because of his talent, but because he gives everything for cycling. That's what I try to follow," said the Bahrain Victorious cyclist.
«The public expects a lot from me, but that doesn't affect me. I know my progress and what I can do. The objectives will arrive. The pressure even helps: it forces you to believe that you can achieve it," he said in an interview on the IDL Pro Cycling portal.
With his 62 kg and 1.85 meters, Omrzel responds to the modern climber model, with ease in all terrains. «I am a climber. I'm not a sprinter, except when there are only climbers left and we're all going to the limit. There I can take advantage of it. I try to improve in everything, but each one ends up specializing in what they are," he emphasizes. That versatility was reflected in the cobblestones of the Paris-Roubaix, a classic that was awarded in 2024, in the junior category. In that versatility it is also similar to Pogacar. «I can't compare myself to Pogi, I have to learn a lot from him and try to follow his example. Everything in his life is structured around cycling: diet, rest, training... He does everything 100%. That's why he is the best cyclist in the world," he said in an interview with Siol, a Slovenian digital company.
Omrzel is certifying all the good things he noted in the lower categories. He trained at Adria Mobil Juniors, one of the nurseries in Slovenia. In 2023 he was junior champion of his country on the road and time trial. In 2024 he won the national road race again. In 2025 he signed for Bahrain and won the Giro d'Italia Next Gen (under 23 years old) and the Slovenian national road race. In the current season he has been third in the Slovenian time trial championship and second on the road.
