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Three victories today. Laas Estonia, Bennett Vuelta, Haller Hamburg. Plus Bennett yesterday.
The team does very well in the moment. Thumbs up!
Edit: Sorry, Laas won in his national jersey in Estonia…
The team does very well in the moment. Thumbs up!
Edit: Sorry, Laas won in his national jersey in Estonia…
Denk: "Fakt ist, dass die Deutschen schon einmal besser waren"
Bora-hansgrohe Manager Ralph Denk ist unzufrieden mit dem Abschneiden der Deutschen in dieser Saison. Vor allem bei seinen eigenen Fahrern sieht er Nachholbedarf.
www.kicker.de
Ralf Denk is not happy with his team and especially his German riders. He singles out Politt who didn't turn out the classics specialist they hoped for, and Buchmann who experienced an unexplainable rapid decline in performance.
I guess you could add to that the either constantly injured, sick or exhausted Max Schachmann.
Only good thing is probably that they let go Pascal Ackermann who went from world-class sprinter to basically nothing.
If one rider declines or underperforms for no clear reason then it's probably the rider's fault. But if 3/4/5 riders all decline or underperform at the same time I'm starting to question their coach.
Denk complains while he should be the one explaining us what's occurring.
Denk complains while he should be the one explaining us what's occurring.
Currently, no one is performing at that team except from Kamna and, more or less, Jai Hindley and Higuita.
Schachmann is a shadow of his former self as well since early 2022. Bennett is nowhere to be seen. Vlasov 2023 performance is far from his standards. Poor Buchmann has had too many crashes as well, apart from his decline in performance.
Schachmann is a shadow of his former self as well since early 2022. Bennett is nowhere to be seen. Vlasov 2023 performance is far from his standards. Poor Buchmann has had too many crashes as well, apart from his decline in performance.
Well they have won one more race than Astana.
Teams thrive and keep winning when they are doing well., which has not been the case so far this season.
Does tend to suggest training, wrong or lack of objectives, or not being managed correctly.
Bennett is a rider wracked with doubts, worries and insecurities; he needs the right support and he will perform.
Teams thrive and keep winning when they are doing well., which has not been the case so far this season.
Does tend to suggest training, wrong or lack of objectives, or not being managed correctly.
Bennett is a rider wracked with doubts, worries and insecurities; he needs the right support and he will perform.
Buchmann hasn't really declined in performance IMHO. He had an outliner in 2019 only. This is more or less the level he had for his whole career, with good moments like last year and bad moments like now.
Maybe he had a good timing with the 2019 (so before Pogacar or Evenepoel really entered the scene) TdF. But judging from points (PCS) alone, he looked like on the trajectory to be an elite GT rider but that did not materialize. So I get why someone would be disappointed. That said, indeed some Bora riders seem to struggle (they are still good enough on a team level but one might have expected them taking the next step).
I think it's a bit more complicated then the german article suggests. I think Bora should really access their team leadership and training. i think last year they got quite lucky that the success of Hindley, Higuita and Vlasov smoothed over the underperformance across the team (Konrad, Großschartner, Buchmann, Schachmann, Bennett, Walls, Politt/haller in the Sprint, Bennett for most of the season).
This year they got a bit unlucky with the stage races and changed up the GTs which led to Vlasov missing out on good one week results. Now it becomes painfully obvious that the team is under performing result wise. On the other hand there are still some positive developments (which is normal in 25+ rider teams). Cian looks good, Schelling seems to be back to his old self, Wandahl was good before crashing, Zwiehoff made another step forward and Denz seems like a nice pick up.
Bora isn't a Top 5 Team anymore and they are missing high-level talent (other then Cian) and world class specialists. That's the other side of the coin. I think no one should expect e.g. Politt, Konrad, Buchmann or Schachmann to mix it with the top guys in the world that will never happen again as racing was totally different in 2018 and 2019 were Bora was on it's highest point. It seems like the team is still stuck in that period and after striking gold with Hindley at the Giro last year they seem also a bit unrealistic about what their riders can achieve.
Take Sundays LBL. Konrad got 8th and they were relatively deep in the race with three riders (Vlasov then crashed). So they were no were near the win but thats maybe the best Ardennes race Konrad ever did and in a year like 2019 he could have been fighting for 4th or 5th with that showing. I see two possible ways out for the team but both need an adjustment in their self-assessment which could be a problem because the sponsors pay a lot. With adjustment I mean that they should now that a Top 10 in a GT or Monument is a real success for the cast of riders they have. Plus more stage hunting and taking advantage of smaller WT races is necessary to get wins. It doesn't look good that denk seems to pretend that Vlasov can come close to the win in the Giro. But now to the two strategies. Go really young with the team would be option 1. keep a few of the old(er) guys (especially the germans/austrians) in the team around to help (Konrad, Buchmann, Denz, Gamper, Haller) and then give a lot of spots to young guys (19-22). Right now they have 3 such riders that would be maybe 10 in that scenario. The goal is then to prepare for 2030 and find the next dominant rider. Option 2 would be to specialize the team more in categories they could be competitive in with their budget. Sprint seems to be the obvious answer as they can invest Bennetts money probably in two decent sprint train set-ups. Time Trialing could be the other option but I don't think that's likely given Boras team history and not that much talent other then Foss really available there. They good for sure afford too add one or two good stage-hunters to add to Kämna and Schelling.
This year they got a bit unlucky with the stage races and changed up the GTs which led to Vlasov missing out on good one week results. Now it becomes painfully obvious that the team is under performing result wise. On the other hand there are still some positive developments (which is normal in 25+ rider teams). Cian looks good, Schelling seems to be back to his old self, Wandahl was good before crashing, Zwiehoff made another step forward and Denz seems like a nice pick up.
Bora isn't a Top 5 Team anymore and they are missing high-level talent (other then Cian) and world class specialists. That's the other side of the coin. I think no one should expect e.g. Politt, Konrad, Buchmann or Schachmann to mix it with the top guys in the world that will never happen again as racing was totally different in 2018 and 2019 were Bora was on it's highest point. It seems like the team is still stuck in that period and after striking gold with Hindley at the Giro last year they seem also a bit unrealistic about what their riders can achieve.
Take Sundays LBL. Konrad got 8th and they were relatively deep in the race with three riders (Vlasov then crashed). So they were no were near the win but thats maybe the best Ardennes race Konrad ever did and in a year like 2019 he could have been fighting for 4th or 5th with that showing. I see two possible ways out for the team but both need an adjustment in their self-assessment which could be a problem because the sponsors pay a lot. With adjustment I mean that they should now that a Top 10 in a GT or Monument is a real success for the cast of riders they have. Plus more stage hunting and taking advantage of smaller WT races is necessary to get wins. It doesn't look good that denk seems to pretend that Vlasov can come close to the win in the Giro. But now to the two strategies. Go really young with the team would be option 1. keep a few of the old(er) guys (especially the germans/austrians) in the team around to help (Konrad, Buchmann, Denz, Gamper, Haller) and then give a lot of spots to young guys (19-22). Right now they have 3 such riders that would be maybe 10 in that scenario. The goal is then to prepare for 2030 and find the next dominant rider. Option 2 would be to specialize the team more in categories they could be competitive in with their budget. Sprint seems to be the obvious answer as they can invest Bennetts money probably in two decent sprint train set-ups. Time Trialing could be the other option but I don't think that's likely given Boras team history and not that much talent other then Foss really available there. They good for sure afford too add one or two good stage-hunters to add to Kämna and Schelling.
Yeah, he's a guy who can ride top 10 in a gt who likes the heat, but struggles a lot in cold, rainy weather. The 2019 Tour was imo a big outliner.
No idea what happened to Politt, he was great even at Katusha. The article mentions that he had a fever during the week leading up to Paris-Roubaix and the year before he was in the group that made the long range attack before a mechanical/crash happened.
No idea why the Ralphamale is singling out the German riders, maybe Bora wants to have a big German name on the team?
Wouldn't even surprise me if Ralf when out of his way to create some staged drama to take some media attention/pressure away from Kämna.
Who am I kidding, the Germans only care about the Tour anyway...
Who am I kidding, the Germans only care about the Tour anyway...
Just cannot stay healthy and cannot keep up his best level for an entire GT these days. He was flying in the 2020 Dauphine but crashed out. Had to give up the Giro in 2021 after he was the only one that could follow Bernal on the Montalcino stage. 6th in GC. Less than a minute behind the podium. Once again not being able to handle cold/rainy weather.
Never reached that level in 2022. Looks like 2023 wil be more of the same.
Bora extends as main sponsor until 2027
Some news regarding the Bora line-up for the Tour.
Higuita seems to be riding the Tour as heard in colombian media. That's a pretty big shift as he was planned as GC rider for La Vuelta like last year initally. Bringing Higuita to the Tour makes a lot of sense. He can go for stages or the mountain classification as Bora has Hindley to go for GC. Higuita could be the 1b Option like Kämna was in the Giro. The stages are actually pretty good for Higuita so let's see.
Buchmann is also listed for the Tour but not a lock to start. This makes sense as he wasn't that great this year and the spots could be full pretty quick depending on the sprint train. I think it's highly likely that he starts. It's great for German Media especially as Kämna doesn't start and I'm nit sure if it's even an option to bring Schachmann. Also he is to me the only available domestique for Hindley that can make a 20-25 rider selection in the alps. That is when Konrad and Jungels don't start the Tour which would be logical after they did already the Giro.
So the team that is emerging at the moment (an update to the old PCS list)
Hindley - GC
Higuita - role needs to be clarified I think more for stages or even an early yellow jersey hunt
Buchmann - domestique for Hindley, rest has to be seen I guess
Politt - premium bodyguard for Jai, there are maybe 2 stages he can go for from the break
The rest likely depends on the sprinter they take:
van Poppel - is a lock for me as well. Contract extended, great last year in the first week for Vlasov. He can either sprint himself or be the best leadout men
Then the decision will be between two sprinters: bennett or Meeus
Bennett is in the Dauphine next week which is really weird as they have maybe 1 stage he can maybe go for. the season is a disappointment until now, he won't be extended. But it seems like the Tour is still realistic...
...because Meeus also has a bad season. he won a small race a few weeks ago but against no real competition. he starts in Suisse which isn't much better then the Dauphine but I see the possibility for two sprints there with this broader sprinting field there.
That should be 6 of 8 spots. It's possible they only sprint with van Poppel, but there are so many sprint stages that I think they take one even if they are not Top 5 material. If bennett goes so will probably Mullen. I don't think they take an additional dedicated leadout with Meeus. Jonas Koch could be an option to service as 3rd last men and do domestique work for the other protected riders as well.
For the last spot(s) we have to make best guesses.
I would exclude the whole Giro squad from this discussion. maybe Jungels could start after his early season sickness and therefore fewer race days, but he also didn't look that great again because of sickness in the Giro.
The other candidates are for me Haller, Zwiehoff and Schelling. Schelling didn't look that great in Norway. He is now riding smaller races in Belgium and then I would guess Suisse. Same could be true for Haller and Zwiehoff. Haller should normally be a good choice for the Tour but this team is up until now very light on climbers if they take a three-guys-sprint-team. Zwiehoff would be a loyal domestique and showed good form throughout the year. Also a good story for a german team.
Schachmann would be of course a lock for the Tour if he is on form, but after the last two years...maybe they assess him after the Tour de Suisse or so but the Tour could be to early for him.
The change of programme for Higuita could mean (would be very logical) that Vlasov gets his shot at the Vuelta plus they have still Cian there to also try out a bit of GC riding without pressure. Wouldn't be surprised to also see Kämna go for the stage triple. Besides that young Luis-Joe Lührs is also ready to have his first GT experience. So combining a honest GC approach of Vlasov with some talent exploration (maybe Wandahl, Lipowitz as well) is a really good plan for the Vuelta.
Higuita seems to be riding the Tour as heard in colombian media. That's a pretty big shift as he was planned as GC rider for La Vuelta like last year initally. Bringing Higuita to the Tour makes a lot of sense. He can go for stages or the mountain classification as Bora has Hindley to go for GC. Higuita could be the 1b Option like Kämna was in the Giro. The stages are actually pretty good for Higuita so let's see.
Buchmann is also listed for the Tour but not a lock to start. This makes sense as he wasn't that great this year and the spots could be full pretty quick depending on the sprint train. I think it's highly likely that he starts. It's great for German Media especially as Kämna doesn't start and I'm nit sure if it's even an option to bring Schachmann. Also he is to me the only available domestique for Hindley that can make a 20-25 rider selection in the alps. That is when Konrad and Jungels don't start the Tour which would be logical after they did already the Giro.
So the team that is emerging at the moment (an update to the old PCS list)
Hindley - GC
Higuita - role needs to be clarified I think more for stages or even an early yellow jersey hunt
Buchmann - domestique for Hindley, rest has to be seen I guess
Politt - premium bodyguard for Jai, there are maybe 2 stages he can go for from the break
The rest likely depends on the sprinter they take:
van Poppel - is a lock for me as well. Contract extended, great last year in the first week for Vlasov. He can either sprint himself or be the best leadout men
Then the decision will be between two sprinters: bennett or Meeus
Bennett is in the Dauphine next week which is really weird as they have maybe 1 stage he can maybe go for. the season is a disappointment until now, he won't be extended. But it seems like the Tour is still realistic...
...because Meeus also has a bad season. he won a small race a few weeks ago but against no real competition. he starts in Suisse which isn't much better then the Dauphine but I see the possibility for two sprints there with this broader sprinting field there.
That should be 6 of 8 spots. It's possible they only sprint with van Poppel, but there are so many sprint stages that I think they take one even if they are not Top 5 material. If bennett goes so will probably Mullen. I don't think they take an additional dedicated leadout with Meeus. Jonas Koch could be an option to service as 3rd last men and do domestique work for the other protected riders as well.
For the last spot(s) we have to make best guesses.
I would exclude the whole Giro squad from this discussion. maybe Jungels could start after his early season sickness and therefore fewer race days, but he also didn't look that great again because of sickness in the Giro.
The other candidates are for me Haller, Zwiehoff and Schelling. Schelling didn't look that great in Norway. He is now riding smaller races in Belgium and then I would guess Suisse. Same could be true for Haller and Zwiehoff. Haller should normally be a good choice for the Tour but this team is up until now very light on climbers if they take a three-guys-sprint-team. Zwiehoff would be a loyal domestique and showed good form throughout the year. Also a good story for a german team.
Schachmann would be of course a lock for the Tour if he is on form, but after the last two years...maybe they assess him after the Tour de Suisse or so but the Tour could be to early for him.
The change of programme for Higuita could mean (would be very logical) that Vlasov gets his shot at the Vuelta plus they have still Cian there to also try out a bit of GC riding without pressure. Wouldn't be surprised to also see Kämna go for the stage triple. Besides that young Luis-Joe Lührs is also ready to have his first GT experience. So combining a honest GC approach of Vlasov with some talent exploration (maybe Wandahl, Lipowitz as well) is a really good plan for the Vuelta.
Zwiehoff will not Race the Tour. He and His wife got a little Kid in April. So he was Not able to train probably. I'm Not Sure about His next races, maybe GC in some smaller races and then vuelta.
Denk spoke about schachmann a few weeks ago und Said Something Like "He Always geht's sick If he races Stage races, so maybe His Body is Not ready for Stage races and the Tour".
I think He gets the chance to Recover well do some smaller races and maybe vuelta and if not than full Focus on the next year.
I'll think benett will be the sprinter and will be supported from mullen, Van poppel and pollit as a lead Out.
Meeus is not a pure sprinter and i think benett got the better Chances to win a Stage or Podium a stage in the Tour.
Higuita is a suprise for me but a good one.
He can win hilly or mountain stages, can be a good domestique, can wear the moutain Jersey or an early yellow jersey.
So there is Just one Spot Open. Guesses?
Gamper as an Allrounder? Aleotti?
Vuelta: vlasov and the Young cian for GC, kämna for stages, meeus as the Sprinter/Finisher.
Denk spoke about schachmann a few weeks ago und Said Something Like "He Always geht's sick If he races Stage races, so maybe His Body is Not ready for Stage races and the Tour".
I think He gets the chance to Recover well do some smaller races and maybe vuelta and if not than full Focus on the next year.
I'll think benett will be the sprinter and will be supported from mullen, Van poppel and pollit as a lead Out.
Meeus is not a pure sprinter and i think benett got the better Chances to win a Stage or Podium a stage in the Tour.
Higuita is a suprise for me but a good one.
He can win hilly or mountain stages, can be a good domestique, can wear the moutain Jersey or an early yellow jersey.
So there is Just one Spot Open. Guesses?
Gamper as an Allrounder? Aleotti?
Vuelta: vlasov and the Young cian for GC, kämna for stages, meeus as the Sprinter/Finisher.
They bring Gamper because Hindley loves Gamper after the excellent work he did for him last year at the Giro bodyguarding him.
Where is this information from? Media from Luxembourg? They could use him but he was coughing all over his bike in week three of the Giro so I would say its about how well he can recover.
Gamper makes sense but that would mean likely no Haller if they want any mountain support included.
No Haller. Jungels is Plan B or C if Schachmann can‘t get in shape. The information about Higuita is new to me.
There was a feature about Bennett in Irish media yesterday. If he really isn't going to be part of the team, no one has told him yet:
A meeting with his coach on Bennett’s return two months ago saw him go back to what works for him and riding a hard Dauphine is all part of the process of arriving at the Tour de France in peak condition.
“I just found… other years, I went to the Tour of Belgium and, yeah, it could be good fighting for a win there and it can make you race sharp, speed-wise, but it doesn’t really build the condition, if that makes sense?
"You get speed, you get race rhythm but you don’t build condition there. The Dauphine is something that will turn you inside out and you’ll find form somewhere on the road.”
[...]
Having been overlooked by his squad for the last two editions of the Tour, Bennett knows that a Dauphine stage victory would go a long way towards claiming a berth on the team this year and admits that there’s a catch-22 situation between building towards a peak at the Tour and making sure he’s selected for it in the first place.
“Last year you wouldn’t have said I was in great form coming into the Vuelta but I got the results,” he says, of his two Spanish stage wins.
“The last five Grand Tours I’ve done, I’ve always won a stage, if not multiple stages. In theory, I don’t need to be ready for another month but it feels like I really have to prove myself beforehand this year because I was supposed to do the Tour the last two years.
"It was on my program but it didn’t happen, so nothing’s ever guaranteed. You still have to work for it. I just have to keep doing my thing.”
www.independent.ie
A meeting with his coach on Bennett’s return two months ago saw him go back to what works for him and riding a hard Dauphine is all part of the process of arriving at the Tour de France in peak condition.
“I just found… other years, I went to the Tour of Belgium and, yeah, it could be good fighting for a win there and it can make you race sharp, speed-wise, but it doesn’t really build the condition, if that makes sense?
"You get speed, you get race rhythm but you don’t build condition there. The Dauphine is something that will turn you inside out and you’ll find form somewhere on the road.”
[...]
Having been overlooked by his squad for the last two editions of the Tour, Bennett knows that a Dauphine stage victory would go a long way towards claiming a berth on the team this year and admits that there’s a catch-22 situation between building towards a peak at the Tour and making sure he’s selected for it in the first place.
“Last year you wouldn’t have said I was in great form coming into the Vuelta but I got the results,” he says, of his two Spanish stage wins.
“The last five Grand Tours I’ve done, I’ve always won a stage, if not multiple stages. In theory, I don’t need to be ready for another month but it feels like I really have to prove myself beforehand this year because I was supposed to do the Tour the last two years.
"It was on my program but it didn’t happen, so nothing’s ever guaranteed. You still have to work for it. I just have to keep doing my thing.”
Sam Bennett on Tour de France preparations: ‘The Dauphine is something that will turn you inside out’
Sam Bennett’s road to the Tour De France begins on Sunday with the eight-day Criterium du Dauphine in France.
www.independent.ie
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