New major sponsor - Attack on the Tour throne with Red Bull - "Now or never"
On the jerseys is written Red Bull, financially, the team is playing in a new league - now Primoz Roglic's attack on the Throne of the Tour de France is also intended to succeed.
Three years after the bitter defeat of the Slovenian, when he had the Yellow Jersey taken from him by his compatriot Tadej Pogacar on the second last stage, the German cycling team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe plans to pull off the coup with its new captain. "The results lists cannot be rewritten. Perhaps there will be a revenge one day. He doesn't have much time left. In five years it will be too late. One can already say: Now or never," said team manager Ralph Denk to the German Press Agency.
On Wednesday, the new design with blue jerseys and also the entirely Roglic-aligned team for the Tour de France, which begins on Saturday, was presented in Salzburg at the new main sponsor. "I'm still missing the Tour de France and that's a beautiful goal," so Roglic, who won the Vuelta three times in a row (2019-2021) and the Giro d'Italia last year. Now it should finally be the Tour, with 34 years he has few chances left.
Roglic has strong competition
And the competition is greater than ever. Last year's winner Jonas Vingegaard is fit again after his serious fall in the Basque Country, and Belgian youngster Remco Evenepoel is making his Tour debut for the first time, but the big favorite is exceptional talent Pogacar. "Mano a mano, if Tadej comes with the form from the Giro, it will be terribly difficult," said Denk and added: "But it's three weeks with insane amounts of hurdles. It's not just the high mountains. It's the race with the highest stress level."
A team for the captain
So that the stress is not too great, the team is entirely aligned with Roglic. Ex-Giro winner Jai Hindley (Australia), Alexander Wlassow (Russia), and Matteo Sobrero (Italy) are to help in the high mountains, while Nico Denz is the only German, Bob Jungels (Luxembourg), Marco Haller (Austria), and Danny van Poppel (Netherlands) are needed for the partly rough flat stages.
With Red Bull's entry, the team is financially in the league of top teams like UAE, which have a budget of around 50 million Euros. The team will be restructured next year. Denk wants to say nothing about potential new signings, but Pogacar or Vingegaard are unlikely to receive offers: "It would be the nicest if we discovered and developed a young athlete and he then wins the Tour de France for us in three, four years."
- Bora-hansgrohe, the German cycling team sponsored by Red Bull, aims to dethrone Primoz Roglic's rivals in the upcoming Tour de France.
- Roglic, who has been the team's captain since the restructuring, will face stiff competition from last year's winner Jonas Vingegaard and exceptional talent Tadej Pogacar.
- Remco Evenepoel, a Belgian youngster, will make his Tour de France debut this year, adding to the competitive landscape.
- To support Roglic, the team has assembled a strong squad including Jai Hindley, Alexander Wlassow, Matteo Sobrero, Nico Denz, Bob Jungels, Marco Haller, and Danny van Poppel.
- With Red Bull's financial backing, Bora-hansgrohe is now competing in the elite tier, with a budget comparable to top teams like UAE.
- Ralph Denk, the team manager, hinted at potential roster changes for next year, mentioning the possibility of discovering and nurturing a young talent to win the Tour de France for the team in the future.
