Red Bull BORA-hansgrohe has to settle for leftovers with Van Gils, Meeus and Fisher-Black, but what about Roglic?

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe certainly did not come up empty-handed on Sunday, but the German cycling team undoubtedly wanted to show more this week. With Maxim Van Gils, they won a stage and the points classification in the Ruta del Sol, while Jordi Meeus won a stage in the Tour of the Algarve. However, the eighth place of leader Primoz Roglic in Portugal also gave food for thought. What work is left to be done?

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe did not make their mark in the UAE Tour. Sprinter Sam Welsford came up short in the four sprint opportunities against the world's best, and in the GC, Finn Fisher-Black finished in sixth place. On the final day, the New Zealander tried to keep up with the overall winner, Tadej Pogacar, on Jebel Hafeet, but he lost two more places in the GC.

"I knew it was just about suffering, and in the beginning it felt quite good, the first ten minutes," Fisher-Black analyzed to Cyclingnews. "I even tried to follow Tadej when he went, but I think I found out straight away that he's on another level. Not that I didn't know that before but then it was just about trying to ride my pace until the finish, I was trying to surf some wheels because of the strong headwind but in the end, I could only do what I could. But happy as I think it was a top 10."

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Van Gils and Meeus secure stage wins in busy week of racing

Van Gils secured a stage win on day one of the Ruta del Sol, and although the Belgian lost the leader's jersey the following day, he retained the green points jersey, which had two more sixth places and a third place in the daily results. Van Gils also finished fourth in the GC. "I am happy with how this week went. After my crash in the Star of Bessèges, I had a good week of racing. Maybe I could have done better, but sometimes you must be satisfied with the situation."

There was also reason to celebrate in the Algarve. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe saw Meeus win on day three, and a day later, he just missed out with a second place. That earned him the green points jersey. "It was a good week. My goal was to win at least one stage, and I succeeded. We worked great as a team; these days serve as good preparation for what is to come."

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What about Primoz Roglic in the Algarve?

Only one name remains: Primoz Roglic. The Slovenian was expected to do well in the Tour of the Algarve, but he didn't stand out. A ninth place on day two was his best result, and with a twelfth place in the final time trial, he ended up eighth in the GC. Should we start worrying about the man who is usually always good when he races? "It was tough but beautiful. I was able to put in some good effort, and I'm happy with that," Daniel Benson reported.

"There is work to be done, but I enjoyed it," continued Roglic, who will now train for another month before we see him again in Catalonia. "I wouldn't have reached my top form in the Algarve; this is just the start of the season. I'm on the right track, even though work is to be done."

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