With Lennard Kämna as vice-captain at the Giro d’Italia and Primoz Roglic for overall victory at the Tour de France, the top German team Bora-hansgrohe is heading into the new cycling season.
The main goal is to win the tour with the Slovenian newcomer. “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,” said sports director Rolf Aldag on Wednesday (January 10, 2024) in Mallorca.
“The top 5 are my dream scenario”
Germany’s top professional cyclist Kämna should also compete for the overall ranking at the Giro in 2024. “The plan is actually the same as last year. I will start again as second captain, Daniel Martinez will be the first captain,” said the 27-year-old on the sidelines of the team’s training camp: “I think it’s a stretch that suits me well.”
In May he wanted to improve on his performance from last year, when he finished ninth overall. “I want to be able to help shape the race. If it ends up being fifth place, and I was fully involved, I’ll be happy. Fifth place is my dream scenario. And if it’s seventh, eighth, ninth place “And I was fully involved, I’m happy too,” he said.
Tour start probably off the table for Kämna and Buchmann
However, Kämna could miss the Tour de France, which starts around five weeks after the end of the Giro, because of the focus on the Tour of Italy. There is “a door open,” he said, “but a lot of things have to go well for that to happen.” The same applies to Kämna’s teammate, 2019 Tour fourth-place finisher Emanuel Buchmann, who is also firmly scheduled for the Giro.
The core team for the tour has also already been determined. 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.
Roglic is already talking about winning the Tour
“We’re going into the tour with one leader, that’s Primoz. Everything else doesn’t make sense,” said Aldag. 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.”
2024-01-10 17:03:51
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