How BORA and Roglic's plans must align just in time despite a sudden gap in the dream Tour team

At the Giro d'Italia, Daniel Felipe Martinez brought joy to BORA-hansgrohe as he emerged as the strongest of the non-superhuman riders. This gave the German WorldTour team confidence heading into the next grand tour, the Tour de France, where they could potentially start with a host of top riders. IDLProCycling.com spoke at various times with several key figures within the team!

Rome, May 26, 2024.

Shortly after Tim Merlier clinched the final stage of the Giro (though really after stage twenty), many teams felt a sense of 'taking it easy.' Understandable, after three grueling weeks in Italy. Tadej Pogacar, as expected, was the strongest, with Martinez nearly ten minutes behind. Our correspondent on the ground caught up with BORA team manager Ralph Denk for a retrospective and look ahead. "I'm very happy with Dani's second place. To be honest: not much more was possible. Best of the rest, so to speak. We should be very satisfied with that, considering our initial goal was to be in the top five.

"Unfortunately, we lost Florian Lipowitz very early on," the German continued. "He would have normally been a strong support for Dani. Perhaps that's why we should be even prouder of that second place." The 50-year-old from Bavaria said that the surprising podium finish with Martinez also yielded a lot of useful information for BORA-hansgrohe's future plans. "You always learn new things in each grand tour, but ultimately cycling is about the details. It's about tactics, nutrition, equipment... those kinds of things. From all these aspects, you can draw small lessons and expand your knowledge. Regarding the Giro, we therefore need to draw conclusions, which we can carry into the Tour."

"It’s not about overhauling our approach, but fine-tuning the details. There’s always a bit of room for improvement. That’s the mindset and motivation we must maintain. We're quite optimistic about the upcoming Tour," Denk added. "My ambition is to evolve our team into a grand tour contender. That's our next milestone. Two years ago, we won the Giro with Jai Hindley, which is a positive indicator. We're hoping for more podium finishes in the coming years."

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Martinez still uncertain for Tour (possibly Vuelta), Kämna's situation difficult to assess

And ambition is permissible when you have names like Martinez, Hindley, as well as top riders like Aleksandr Vlasov, Emanuel Buchmann, and new addition Primoz Roglic. Many of these guys will also appear at the Tour de France's Grand Départ at the end of June. Yet, the planned Tour selection for BORA was even stronger. It is still uncertain whether Martinez, after a demanding Giro, will proceed to France as planned. "Dani is indeed on the longlist for the Tour, but we need to thoroughly evaluate everything. In the Giro, for example, we initially planned to start with two leaders. Lennard Kämna would normally have been a co-leader, but due to his accident, it was all on Dani from day one."

The absence of Kämna not only created a gap in the Giro team, but the German was also slated as a support for Roglic in the Tour de France. That Kämna will race again is certain, according to Denk, though he will definitely miss the Tour. "For Lennard, he's still in recovery. It was a severe accident. We need to wait a bit before we can really communicate anything outwardly. He's making progress, but slowly. I'm not a doctor, but in my opinion, it's still a bit early to say that he could start in a particular race."

For Martinez, the absence of his German teammate made the Giro even more intense. "Riding every day with a mindset focused on the general classification brings a lot of stress. Sure, Dani isn't Pogacar. So we need to determine if it makes sense to send him to the Tour as well. Maybe we'll give him some rest, followed by a Vuelta." And so, Roglic might miss not only Kämna but also Martinez in his mountain train. Fortunately, things went well with the Slovenian leader during the Giro. "The performance data from Primoz is already showing nice things," Denk concluded with a meaningful smile.

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Roglic and Hindley satisfied with training camp in Sierra Nevada

Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, June 2 2024. Start.

Armed with insights from Denk, we headed to the Critérium du Dauphiné a few days later to ask Roglic himself. Is he fully fit or still recovering? "The training camp went well, mainly because it was a great place for recovery and to gradually pick up training again. Those were the key aspects, and I'm happy with them. But racing is obviously quite different from training," explained the three-time Vuelta winner during his preview with this website among others. "For me, the season is just starting now, haha! That’s how I have to see it. Hopefully, I can start the season well. If you have the legs, everything is easier. But I can't say much about that yet. I'll have to see how things go during the race. I’m really curious to see how it will unfold. We’ll definitely do our utmost to be at the front."

Shadow leader Hindley expressed similar sentiments exactly one week after our interview with Denk in Rome. "The high-altitude camp went incredibly smoothly," said the always cheerful Aussie. "Quite solid, actually. I was there, along with a few other guys, for three weeks. Those weeks should form the basis for the upcoming block of races. I hope the hard work from Sierra Nevada pays off, starting with this Dauphiné. We definitely want to go for the overall win here. Primoz is our main card, but it’s good to have Aleksandr and myself as backups."

"I haven’t raced much with Primoz, though we did spend three weeks together at altitude," Hindley also noted. "It was quite enjoyable. He’s a great guy and easy to work with. That definitely reinforced my positive view of him. The Dauphiné is massively important as it's the final rehearsal for perhaps the most important race of the year. If you perform well here, you're usually in good shape for the Tour. This race will be very telling. We hope to show that BORA-hansgrohe is in great form."

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The Dauphiné team for BORA-hansgrohe is nearly identical to their Tour lineup, and team cohesion is key.

Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, June 2 2024. Finish.

After Mads Pedersen clinched the opening stage, we returned to the BORA bus for a conversation with another key BORA-hansgrohe manager, Rolf Aldag. He shared insights on the team's strategy and selection dynamics. "We'll see how the race unfolds. There are definitely a few stages that are perfect for Primoz. As a team, we'll take control and assume our responsibilities," Aldag explained regarding their approach to the Dauphiné.

"But it’s also no secret that we're here with nearly our complete Tour de France team," Aldag continued, referring to Roglic, Vlasov, and Hindley, as well as Nico Denz, Marco Haller, Matteo Sobrero, and Bob Jungels. "So, this acts as an excellent dress rehearsal, especially since Primoz spent eight years with another team (the current Visma | Lease a Bike, ed.). This is one of the rare times we're really together with this Tour lineup. We haven't raced much with this group yet. So, building team spirit and getting to know each other are crucial during the Dauphiné."

"We're here without any undue stress or tension. Stress doesn't typically help much. Our main goal is to gain confidence from our performance," Aldag added. "Furthermore, we want the guys to fully grasp our routines. If everything goes according to plan, success will naturally follow. However, if we start imposing strict expectations or conditions inside the bus, it diminishes our chances of winning. That approach doesn't usually lead to the best outcomes. Success often hinges on the smallest details, like communication over the team radio. If someone is performing better, we embrace that. Recognizing this is a key principle for us. We must also remember that this isn't the Tour de France yet. That comes in July, so the Dauphiné is a prime opportunity to fine-tune our preparations."

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Aldag doesn't expect Evenepoel to hold back, and damage to Roglic seems minor

According to Aldag, the same scenario envisioned for the Dauphiné applies to Remco Evenepoel and Soudal Quick-Step—the Aerobullet from Schepdaal has indicated he initially isn't aiming for the GC. "If his team and teammates operate like a well-oiled machine here, I think great results will follow. I also don’t believe Remco will easily let the classification slip by. It's simply not in his nature, haha! When have we ever seen Remco compete in a race and not be interested in winning? Not very often, right? He probably even wants to win everything in training, haha! He seems too motivated to deliberately not compete for the win. And that actually applies to someone like Primoz, but also to Aleksandr and Jai. They aren't here just to participate. But again: good results for our team will result from good mutual understanding and harmony within the squad."

Finally, Aldag shared some details about the training camp completed just before the Dauphiné, which included Roglic, Hindley, Vlasov, and Jungels. "The training camp went smoothly. We were with a group of guys in Sierra Nevada, along with about a dozen other teams. In other years, we've been to different places. Sometimes it works out well, other times not so much. This time, the conditions were definitely good. The weather was perfect. For example, some teams were in Andorra, where it even snowed for a few days. That's the kind of bad luck you can encounter. So, I'm nothing but satisfied with our first high-altitude camp. After the Dauphiné, we're heading to Tignes for another camp. I'm curious to see how that will turn out."

About 24 hours after speaking with Aldag, Roglic showed his form in the second stage of the Dauphiné. On the particularly foggy Col de la Loge, where a reduced peloton sprinted, the former ski jumper surged to second place. Only Magnus Cort was slightly faster, though the Slovenian certainly couldn't complain. "Everyone here is so fit, and there was only one person faster at the end," the day's runner-up said. "The results will definitely come, sooner or later, with a victory. The most important thing is that we as a group, as men, show a terrific level. Everyone is committed. And yet, I'm disappointed I couldn't finish it off. I was in good form." Thus, he moved confidently toward the third stage, where, as it turned out later, he unfortunately fell. Fortunately, the damage seems to have been minor. To be continued!