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Teams & Riders The Bora - Hansgrohe team thread

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Given Bennetts and Denks history I think a late no + a pretty ugly fallout is the most likely thing to happen. Bennett hasn't shown at all this year that he can be ready to compete with the top guys and he's out of contract and won't be renewed.

Getting dropped that hard in the Dauphine is not helping his case. Would have been better to prove that he could win a stage in Belgium.
 
Bennett didnt't secured the Stage today after a perfect lead Out from Bora.
So If bennetts Spot at the tour is Not Safe yet then i'll think someone else will get the Spot.
Maybe Haller and Meeus in and Bennett and mullen Out
 
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Bennett didnt't secured the Stage today after a perfect lead Out from Bora.
So If bennetts Spot at the tour is Not Safe yet then i'll think someone else will get the Spot.
Maybe Haller and Meeus in and Bennett and mullen Out
I'd go Haller and Van Poppel. if Buchmann is in shape they are fine in the mountains with him + Higuita alongside Hindley. Konrad is a bit random after he rode a demanding Giro and frankly wasn't climbing that well. At that point I'd bring Zwiehoff or even Fabbro instead.
 
A user here is saying that Jungels is a lock. If that's true they have Jungels, Buchmann as support for Hindley, Higuita as a freelance stage hunter/maybe staying ok in GC.

The profiles are looking hard for roleur breaks in which Politt and Haller would shine. So if stage wins / good stage placing are the major focus it would make sense to bring Meeus and a guy like Schelling/Schachmann (if in shape of course) to add to van Poppel and Politt.

One thing is sure: they shouldn't bring Bennett. Van Poppel can sprint for 5th and 6th places and I think even Meeus is a better finisher at the moment.

Konrad is going to Lidl-Trek according to rumours - sad to see another longstanding rider leaving. So he's definitely out of the Tour considering that.
 
Bora has announced their provisional team for Sibiu:

Patrick KONRAD
Cesare BENEDETTI
Patrick GAMPER
Frederik WANDAHL
Luis-Joe LÜHRS
Florian LIPOWITZ

Reserve:
Jonas KOCH
Maximilian SCHACHMANN
Cian UIJTDEBROEKS

Things can still change of course, but look less likely that Konrad will do the Tour then, although he said so before the Giro.
 
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Bora has announced their provisional team for Sibiu:

Patrick KONRAD
Cesare BENEDETTI
Patrick GAMPER
Frederik WANDAHL
Luis-Joe LÜHRS
Florian LIPOWITZ

Reserve:
Jonas KOCH
Maximilian SCHACHMANN
Cian UIJTDEBROEKS

Things can still change of course, but look less likely that Konrad will do the Tour then, although he said so before the Giro.

Yeah nice to see Wandahl back. He looked in such a good shape earlier in the year that the first big result should have been just a matter of time. Konrad is not a surprise as heprobably leaves so they take him to get some points and contend for the win. Earlier in the year Cian was always listed (and is still on PCS) would make a lot of sense as he was domestique for Aleotti last year and could no take a shot at winning his first bike races as a pro. On the other hand he is just on that good of a level that he's likely to be the leader or a co-leader at the Vuelta so maybe there's a change in plans because of that.


Schachmann needs kms in the legs and the Tour is too early for him so I would like to see him start there and then focus on more advanced goals later in the season.


But tbh the Tour selection right now looks like a mess. Hindley in good form thats a great sign. van Poppel and Politt looked ok in their roles at the Dauphine. Buchmann wasn't that good but good enough to be the best climbing domestique they can field at the tour. The other contenders for a spot in my previous post are sill or now even more questionmarks:


- Higuita doesn't look in great shape. That's a wasted spot if he can't fight for stage wins.
- Bennett looked really bad in Dauphine. His sprint is just broken. Climbing level is ok but he will be also just 5th or 6th in reduced sprints.
- Meeus wasted his chance on a sprint on Monday. Also climbing wise ok but against the big guns it seems like he also doesn't have it.
- Jungels we honestly can't say anything. it depends how well he recovered from the Giro and his sickness
- Haller had a good result in the Argau race, but there are not a lot of stages for him at the Tour and they already have Politt and van Poppel to do a lot of the same stuff
-Gamper solid performance in Dauphine. Never saw him listed as an option for the Tour. He would be there to be Hindleys Bodyguard but the question is if Politt (or Haller) couldn't do that job.


With Schachmann just getting started again, Kämna on rec mode after the Giro GC, Konrad riding the Giro and probably leaving and Bennett being completely irrelevant most of the hopes for a stage win are gone and so that goal will be hard to achieve. Also support around Hindley when it comes to the mountain or even just hilly terrain looks pretty thin especially if Jungels can't make it. If someone is flying in Slovenia I still would integrate that rider in the line-up especially if the analysis of Higuitas Suisse performance shows that he can't compete in france for anything. That's really unfortunate because Higuita on stage hunt, in early yellow jersey or the polka dot fight would have given them at least something other then hoping that Hindley is flying and can fight for the podium.
 
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The only Bora driver with a remote chance of winning a stage at TdF seems to be Denz. But will he be nominated ? All others are probably super happy with a Top 10 in whatever they are pursuing.
 
Mountain support is over-rated when you have two dominant riders in the TDF - You need a team to position you for the mountains and then it's a matter of following as as long as you can.

Yes, but just one rider who can stay with you, ride for you when you had to let go of a group, to limit your losses, can be extremely valuable. I don't see that there's anyone for Hindley right now.
 
It's a real pity for Hindley. He could podium if it was just about his own ability and form, but without any real support in the mountains at all it's going to be very tough.
I know that yesterday it wasn't even cold, but when hasnt Higuita sucked in the rain? It's also his first stage race after a training block at altitude, maybe he'll get better over the next few days. Fabbro who was fine in the last few races was also horrible yesterday, almost 15min down.
 
It's a real pity for Hindley. He could podium if it was just about his own ability and form, but without any real support in the mountains at all it's going to be very tough.

Hindley is best of the rest & I expect he'll have that super peak moment he gets for the one GC he targets which will allow him to go further with Pog & Vinge than anyone else IMO.

No matter how good or bad Bora is. I think the biggest danger for Hindley is bad positioning going into the punchier finishes (like stage 1 in Bilbao). He could lose some time there.
 
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I know that yesterday it wasn't even cold, but when hasnt Higuita sucked in the rain?
in Catalunya it was a very wet day when him and Carapaz went on that long range attack, so I wouldn't think it's a general problem. But yeah, he just returned from Colombia, and he often seems to need a couple of stages to get back in the groove. Algarve for example started fairly poorly as well.
 
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in Catalunya it was a very wet day when him and Carapaz went on that long range attack, so I wouldn't think it's a general problem. But yeah, he just returned from Colombia, and he often seems to need a couple of stages to get back in the groove. Algarve for example started fairly poorly as well.
Correct, with him it seems to be more that he really can't handle cold weather (he's pretty much the only Colombian climber from the lowlands)
 
Maybe the Yesterday Non Performance of higuita was some Sort of plan. He will Not get o good GC Position with 2 time Trials in a one week Stage Race.
Maybe He was taking time to Go for Stage wins in the next days.
 
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Like I wrote before, Gamper is a lock.
Hindley loves him as his bodyguard.

With Higuita not in shape, I wonder if they think about bringing Uijtdebroeks.

Hm do you have insider information? because in the media nothing like that was discussed up until now. I mean it makes senese to bring Gamper who was really great in the Giro last year, so I would like the selection, but you could also argue that you need another dimesnion in the team and Politt is also class at this bodyguard stuff.

Cian to the Tour would be really stupid for him and the team. He could be outright GC captain for the Vuelta (depending on Vlasov or Hindley) instead of riding for Hindley and being a domestique (if no one crashes) . he can preapre for that now really well and could receive full team support there even. if they don't take a sprinter he as guys partially working for him and going for stages e.g. maybe Aleotti, Kämna, Schachmann, Schelling... much better for him in my eyes. the Tour leadership will come soon enough (I would bet 2025)
I think there are more guys who can win stages. Politt, Jungles, Konrad.

Yeah we don't have to get to negative there. bora has a lot of guys that CAN win a Tour stage. But its not like they are favourites in stages because a world class sprinter + their best breakaway guys are likely missing. Politt maybe climbs not as well as Denz but there are two roleur stages were van Poppel or he could play a role from the break. Then there's the small chance to win something in the mountains although its more unlikely then last year were they had multiple riders that are quite good at it and tbh they would have won PdBF stage and yellow there if UAE wouldn't have chased down the break for some bonus seconds.
Maybe the Yesterday Non Performance of higuita was some Sort of plan. He will Not get o good GC Position with 2 time Trials in a one week Stage Race.
Maybe He was taking time to Go for Stage wins in the next days.
I doubt it. he looked really bad and uncomfortable on the bike. Maybe he can redeem himself with a fit for a stage tomorrow but it doens't look like it. Finished today with Jonas Koch in a big group 15 minutes down and he wasn't in the break from what I saw. Koch is really another good roleur they have. No shortage there with Politt, Gamper, Denz, Koch and Haller. They are really missing guys like Großschartner and Mühlberger,
 
Gamper will ride the Tour with his only job to protect Hindley.

Vlasov will be captain for the Vuelta.

I would hate it if they send Uijtdebroeks to the Tour, but with Hindley having a solid chance to podium, they can‘t only bring Buchmann for mountain support.
 
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Gamper will ride the Tour with his only job to protect Hindley.

Vlasov will be captain for the Vuelta.

I would hate it if they send Uijtdebroeks to the Tour, but with Hindley having a solid chance to podium, they can‘t only bring Buchmann for mountain support.
Yeah, I wouldn't bring Udderbrooks to the Tour this year, but I could understand the reasoning behind it.
 
If they go from Uijtdebroeks not riding a GT this year, to him maybe riding the Vuelta, to riding the Vuelta to learn, to riding the Vuelta for GC, and now not riding the Vuelta but the Tour, then they have gone bonkers and he should really leave that team. On the other hand, if he can go as a co-leader/free role to the Vuelta, with Vlasov as main guy, that's another thing.
 
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If they go from Uijtdebroeks not riding a GT this year, to him maybe riding the Vuelta, to riding the Vuelta to learn, to riding the Vuelta for GC, and now not riding the Vuelta but the Tour, then they have gone bonkers and he should really leave that team. On the other hand, if he can go as a co-leader/free role to the Vuelta, with Vlasov as main guy, that's another thing.
the new article on Sporza only mentions the Tour as a future goal. Belgian championships are next, then Sibiu, and Vuelta (free to go for GC, but without pressure) at the end of the season

 
Gamper will ride the Tour with his only job to protect Hindley.

Vlasov will be captain for the Vuelta.

I would hate it if they send Uijtdebroeks to the Tour, but with Hindley having a solid chance to podium, they can‘t only bring Buchmann for mountain support.
Jungels went training with Buchmann in france. So i think its very likely that Jungels will go to the Tour as mountain domestique and Stage Hunter.
Higuita seems to be out after a very Bad Tour de suisse.
 
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