Kämna stands his ground at BORA despite Roglic's arrival: 'I want to remain the rider I am now'

Were there better attackers in the peloton than Lennard Kämna in the year 2023? They can probably be counted on one hand. The 27-year-old German completed his hat-trick of stage wins in the three grand tours at the Vuelta a España, but what now, especially with Primoz Roglic heading towards BORA-hansgrohe? In conversation with IDL Procycling, Kämna is clearly at a crossroads.

Kämna has been a welcome guest in Germany for many years. After the country shunned cycling for years, BORA-hansgrohe is making sure the sport has been embraced again. Kämna has been an important pawn with the team, ever since he came over from Team Sunweb in 2020. He immediately won a stage in the Dauphiné and Tour de France in his first year in German service and started 2021 with a stage win in the Tour of Catalonia.

Then things went downhill for Kämna, who struggled with physical discomfort and no longer enjoyed cycling mentally. BORA and Kämna decided to take a break, with a contract extension as a sign of good will. We didn't see the climber back on the road for the rest of 2021, and it wasn't until October of that year that he made his comeback in Cape Epic, a popular mountain bike race.

Read more below the photo.

After a period of reflection with friends and family, Kämna returned on behalf of BORA in 2022, and how! He immediately won a stage in the Ruta del Sol and towards the Giro d'Italia also triumphed in a stage in the Tour of the Alps. In the Giro he then won the stage to Etna, before becoming time trial champion of Germany in the summer.

He impressed as a stage hijacker, but wanted to test himself as a GC rider this season. He finished fourth in the Tirreno-Adriatico and sixth in the Tour of the Alps, including another stage win. In the Giro d'Italia he went for a classification in a major tour for the first time, and with a 9th place finish, he did not disappoint. The focus in the Vuelta a España shifted to the attack later in the season. On day nine he won a mountain stage, giving him a stage win in all three grand tours after 2023 at the age of 27.

Read more below the photo.

How to move forward? That is the big question. Opposite IDL Procycling, Kämna is already standing his ground when it comes to his role at BORA-hansgrohe. 'I'll take a slightly different approach after my break in 2021 and be more constant. It was a very good season, which I can be happy with. I would like to stay active and attack, but I would also like to ride classifications. How and where, I don't know yet, but I absolutely want to remain the rider I am now and win stages.That is beyond doubt.

With the arrival of Primoz Roglic and the presence of Jai Hindley, Aleksandr Vlasov and youngster Cian Uijtdebroeks, the question is: how many classifications remain? Isn't Kämna bound to be a world-class stage hijacker? He already has the feel for it. 'It's not easy to explain. It remains cycling and although I have a good feel for the situation, everything depends on the race situation. I rarely start with a game-plan, I usually see what happens. There is no secret to my victories no, unfortunately not," he concludes with a laugh.