The Addition of Primoz Roglič Doesn’t Guarantee Tour de France Success for Bora-Hansgrohe
One of the most dramatic turn of events during the closing months of the 2023 WorldTour season was the transfer of Primož Roglič from the Dutch Jumbo-Visma squad to German team Bora—Hansgrohe. Roglič had been with Jumbo-Visma since 2016 and was undeniably one of the breakout talents who elevated that team to its current status in the peloton.
A few highlights of Roglič’s considerable time with Jumbo-Visma (and LottoNL-Jumbo, as the team was known before Visma came on board as a title sponsor) include 74 wins while on the team according to FirstCycling. The crown jewels of Roglič’s palmares are the grand tour wins of the 2023 Giro d’Italia and three Vuelta a España victories.
It was the unconventional team tactics by Jumbo-Visma during this year’s Vuelta a España that seemed to ignite what was at first speculation, then confirmation that Roglič was moving to another team, despite having a contract through 2025 according to the AP.
However, Roglič himself later admitted that the move had been in the works for months before the Vuelta, even though he initially denied he had plans to leave.
Now that the dust has settled, Bora—Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk recently sat down with GCN to divulge some insight into how Roglič is settling into his new team, and added some insight into how the squad is approaching the 2024 season.
All in for the Tour
“I know what is missing from my palmares,” Roglič told Cyclingnews in October. “I don’t want to say the Tour is an obsession...”
It’s an obsession that Denk seems to share. He has not been shy about letting the media know that setting Roglič up for a successful run against his former teammate Jonas Vingegaard and the one and only Tadej Pogačar during the 2024 Tour de France is the primary focus of Bora—Hansgrohe next season.
“The Tour, it would mean a lot,” Denk told GCN. “To be on the start line just as a contender, a real contender, is something new for us and it’s something that we need to deal with. There’s attention and pressure but we can do well when we do our jobs. For sure, for me as a person and manager it’s always been a dream to win the Tour with a team, but if it doesn’t happen the sun will still rise the next day. It’s a goal, though.”
However, Denk also acknowledges that Bora—Hansgrohe will need to develop its own Tour winning formula. “It’s an important job but we also need to find our own way," Denk told GCN. “We can’t just copy and paste the past. That’s not a game-changer. You have to bring a mix, look left and right, and go your own way. We have our own strategy and way with our performance team.”
Denk said that Roglič has taken to his new leadership role on the team with natural ease.
“It was impressive for me how quickly he settled into the team,” Denk said according to GCN. “He was friendly. He has already taken the leadership role and brought some good ideas to the table in terms of structure and performance. We’ve had some really good days together and we’re looking forward to the first training camp.”
New team bikes from Specialized
Another revelation from Denk’s GCN interview is that the team has been working with its bike sponsor Specialized to optimize performance, equipment selection and time trial bike position utilizing wind tunnel testing, and also dropped a very unsubtle hint that the team is getting new bikes for the 2024 season.
“We’ve also been at Specialized with Primož to test the TT position and equipment. We’ve already made a big step forward because we’re using a new bike,” Denk revealed. “In the next few days he’ll be at the Red Bull center for some tests and then we do another track test for aerodynamics, so for Primož especially, it’s quite a busy off-season. We need to start working immediately.”
Bora—Hansgrohe will be one of the teams everyone will be watching next year, and Roglič’s star power and talent will without a doubt push the team to a higher level.
“If you talk to him, you immediately feel it and want to give more than 100 percent to be successful,” Denk told GCN about Roglič. “If you talk to him, you realize that he loves what he does and that it’s not hard for him to jump on the bike everyday. I think he’s one of the best role models.”
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