Sport Bora-hansgrohe
With Red Bull to victory in the Tour de France
As of: 10:49 a.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
Candidate for the Tour victory: Primoz Roglic from the German cycling team Bora-hansgrohe
What: dpa/Clara Margais
The coup is almost just a formality: Red Bull will enter cycling and take over Bora-Hansgrohe. Team boss Denk sees this as a win. And sticks to his demand for financial limits. In terms of sport, the goals with top access Roglic are high.
The takeover of the German cycling team Bora-hansgrohe by Red Bull is a quantum leap for team boss Ralph Denk. “We have to see what evolution looks like in cycling. Red Bull has shown in other sports that they can make the difference,” said the 50-year-old. For his team, the commitment is the next big step.
The beverage company’s takeover of 51 percent of the racing team should get the green light by the end of the month. Objections can still be lodged with the Austrian Federal Competition Authority until January 26th, but this is not expected. After Formula 1 and football, the company will invest in cycling, another global sport – and could become a game changer for the German team.
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Denk himself is not afraid of being forced out of the team he founded as a result of the takeover. “I know Red Bull from other projects and I’m not afraid,” said the Bavarian. Rather, it is a partnership of equals. So far, Bora-hansgrohe’s budget is just under 25 million euros. With Red Bull’s involvement, the amount is likely to increase noticeably. According to reports, the UAE and Ineos teams have the largest budgets in cycling at around 50 million euros.
Think about budget and salary limits
Despite the new donor, Denk repeated his call for regulations, whether these be budget or salary caps. “My opinion hasn’t changed,” he emphasized: “It’s much better for the sport and the fan if there are ten or 15 teams fighting for overall victory.” That’s why limits would make sense, that would also be the case in others Sports shown.
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Denk contradicted speculation that he wanted to retire after winning the Tour de France. “I’ll be doing it for a very long time,” said the entrepreneur. “I love what I do. And I can’t do anything else except cycling. That’s why I want to stay in the sport for a long time and am also motivated.”
Coming to the Giro, Tour victory with Roglic
However, winning the Tour de France is actually the big goal this year. With Lennard Kämna as captain at the Giro d’Italia and Primoz Roglic for the overall victory at the Tour of France, the team is heading into the new cycling season. The Slovenian entry is the great hope. “We won the Giro, the Tour is the next logical step. With Primoz it’s a perfect match. He was already second, of course he wants to go to the top,” says sports director Rolf Aldag at the training camp in Mallorca.
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At the Giro, like last year, Kämna gets his chance as a leader. “The top 5 is my dream scenario. I want to be better than last year,” says the man from Bremen. At the Giro 2023, Kämna finished ninth. For the 27-year-old, it was the first major national tour that he completed in the overall ranking. On the way to the Giro, like last year, Kämna will ride Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of the Alps. As a noble helper he has the Colombian climbing specialist Daniel Martinez at his side.
New to the team: Primoz Roglic starts a training session during the Bora-hansgrohe winter camp in Mallorca
What: dpa/Clara Margais
The core team for the tour is also in place. Roglic will be supported in the mountains by Jai Hindley, 2022 Giro winner, Alexander Vlasov, 2022 Tour fifth-place finisher and Martinez. In the flat and hilly stages, Nico Denz should keep the 34-year-old Slovenian out of any trouble. Bora-hansgrohe does not take a sprinter with him on the tour. “We are going into the tour with a leader, that is Primoz. “Everything else doesn’t make sense,” says Aldag.
The opportunity of the underdogs
From May 1st, the tour team will compete in all races and training camps together and then challenge two-time winners Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar. “I am very confident that we will win the Tour,” said Roglic. “We have a clear goal that we are working towards. Now it’s up to us to execute the plan.”
According to Roglic, Vingegaard, Tour winner in 2022 and 2023, is currently showing hardly any weaknesses. Aldag still made a difference. “Jonas and Tadej have won twice, we don’t have that yet,” said the 55-year-old. “What gets you out of bed in the morning? The things you haven’t achieved yet. We’re still a little under the radar, we’re still the underdogs for whatever reason. We want to take advantage of that.”
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