Teams & Riders The Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe team thread

[Leinster]

Check the competition.

Yes, I know. Check Cav's though.

 

[Faserr]

Ackermann picked up 5 stage wins and 2 points jerseys while the Tour was going on, how do you not bring a guy like that to a GT?

Ackermann and Bora is a complicated story. He had a bad year, because his leadout train was knocked out in that car accident in italy and his own form/confidence wasn't good. Then he trained 100% to peak for the Tour and didn't show really good results. In the Tour of Belgium he showed that he was on the right track. He was only beaten by Cavendish, Merlier and Ewan, the strongest sprinters of the tour.
Denk said he didn't take him to the Tour because of bad shape. Yes, his results and his shape until the Tour weren't good, but he really was getting better and could have a shot for a stage win. The real reason was that they went 100% for the Team Sagan in Team Bora . Denk should have said that, too. There was no place for Ackermann even in perfect shape. He shouldn't have promised him a Tour start. The relationship between Denk and Ackermann is probably wrecked now. I think he will leave the team. In his last two Grand Tours he won two stages and now he can't even ride one Grand Tours.

 

[Remy55]

What was strange to see was they didn't even bring Ackermanns train to Sibiu and Sardegna. I think that is a good indicator that Ackermann, Selig and Schwarzmann will leave the team.
The new sprint train will be Bennett - Van Poppel - Koch.

 

[Faserr]

If team Sagan and team Ackermann are both leaving Bora, then Denk has to sign a lot of riders.

 

[Ranagazoo]

If team Sagan and team Ackermann are both leaving Bora, then Denk has to sign a lot of riders.

Get team Bennett back?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Ackermann and Bora is a complicated story. He had a bad year, because his leadout train was knocked out in that car accident in italy and his own form/confidence wasn't good. Then he trained 100% to peak for the Tour and didn't show really good results. In the Tour of Belgium he showed that he was on the right track. He was only beaten by Cavendish, Merlier and Ewan, the strongest sprinters of the tour.
Denk said he didn't take him to the Tour because of bad shape. Yes, his results and his shape until the Tour weren't good, but he really was getting better and could have a shot for a stage win. The real reason was that they went 100% for the Team Sagan in Team Bora . Denk should have said that, too. There was no place for Ackermann even in perfect shape. He shouldn't have promised him a Tour start. The relationship between Denk and Ackermann is probably wrecked now. I think he will leave the team. In his last two Grand Tours he won two stages and now he can't even ride one Grand Tours.

If Ackermann had won a lot this year, then I'm not sure they wouldn't have brought him to the Tour. But because he didn't, it wouldn¨t really have made much sense to have him there, cause if he couldn't win a stage he would (potentially) just hurt Sagan's chances of winning the green jersey. It was of course a bit of a gamble, cause if Sagan had ende up being too tired after the Giro or being involved in a crash, which he then were, they could have ended up with nothing, but luckily Politt and Konrad saved the race for them.

 

[BlueRoads]

If they do indeed bring in Hindley, Higuita and Vlasov:
I don't know what their plans for the future are exactly, though, looks like simply a lot of climbing potential assembled...?

 

[Anderis]

I don't know what their plans for the future are exactly

I already explained in another thread:

BORA to take all 4-10 places in GC in the Tour next year.

 

[brrrrrr]

If they do indeed bring in Hindley, Higuita and Vlasov:
I don't know what their plans for the future are exactly, though, looks like simply a lot of climbing potential assembled...?

denk's dream is it to win le tour with someone

 

[Tinnekeisabella]

Sagan offically leaving Bora

 

[Vesica]

So I guess Bora will now target the new Olympic BMX champion Niek Kimmann?

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

So I guess Bora will now target the new Olympic BMX champion Niek Kimmann?

The real reason Peter is leaving is that he refused to change his name to Sagann to fit in a little better.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The real reason Peter is leaving is that he refused to change his name to Sagann to fit in a little better.

It was always Sagmann though.

 

[Salvarani]

Quite the shake-up, but they will have a strong collective of good riders. The question is who can develop into a great one.

 

[Marco-Sun]

Any news regarding the plans of Kämna for the rest of the season?

 

[Faserr]

No. He was on the startlist vor Burgos but disappeared yesterday.

 

[Naico]

Any news regarding the plans of Kämna for the rest of the season?

He got blasted by Denk who called him a liar and refused to recognize his mental issues. You won’t read about that on social media though…
Hope he gets back soon.

 

[Leinster]

If they do indeed bring in Hindley, Higuita and Vlasov:
I don't know what their plans for the future are exactly, though, looks like simply a lot of climbing potential assembled...?

…and a pretty complete sprint train. I can’t imagine Bennett, with his recent history, has signed for any team who wouldn’t give him a hard guarantee of a TdF ride, with leadout support. Mullen doubles as a flatland domestique, so would have a role to play supporting a gc effort for eg Wilco, but Archbold’s mullet and vanPoppel have been signed to set up Bennett for sprint wins at stage races.

So Bennett, plus at least 2 of his co-signees, are guaranteed in the Tour squad. So is Politt. So the GC/climbing squad is there to make up the rest.

 

[Marco-Sun]

He got blasted by Denk who called him a liar and refused to recognize his mental issues. You won’t read about that on social media though…
Hope he gets back soon.

Yes I know the statement from Denk there. Nevertheless in the same press conference it was said that his season is not yet finished so I was hoping for a Vuelta or some other big race. But since he was removed from Burgos I am afraid the season is done and dusted...

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Yes I know the statement from Denk there. Nevertheless in the same press conference it was said that his season is not yet finished so I was hoping for a Vuelta or some other big race. But since he was removed from Burgos I am afraid the season is done and dusted...

Seriously, Denk did that? What did he say exactly?

 

[Marco-Sun]

Seriously, Denk did that? What did he say exactly?

If I remember correctly he said something like Kämna didn't tell them the truth regarding his training effort. He trained too much and this was the reason for his bad form in Portugal in May and the decision to cancel the tour. But he also mentioned that there is no mental block (burnout or something similar) to stop Kämna riding...

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

If I remember correctly he said something like Kämna didn't tell them the truth regarding his training effort. He trained too much and this was the reason for his bad form in Portugal in May and the decision to cancel the tour. But he also mentioned that there is no mental block (burnout or something similar) to stop Kämna riding...

And does Kamna say that in fact he’s been having a mental health issue?

 

[jfazendeiro]

Almeida is another rumoured signing.

 

[Ktarie]

With Jai Hindley, Sergio Higuita and Marco Haller, Ralph Denk's team is strengthening itself on different fronts, thereby also initiating strategic changes. All riders will be under contract with BORA - hansgrohe for at least the next three years:

News

www.bora-hansgrohe.com

...now I am curious whether they could actually sign Vlasov or Almeida too.

 

[Bolder]

I dunno, I think signing both Higuita and Hindley is a bit speculative at this point -- Higuita is a bit of a confounding rider; at his size he should be a pure climber like Lopez or Chavez, although I believe he's actually lighter than both of them, but he seems to excel in rolling terrain. And he hasn't won much outside of Columbia IIRC. So not quite sure what the goals are for him: do you try to turn him into a winning stage racer? Surely he could compete for the Dauphine or some of the Spanish weeklong races...

This has been a lost year for Hindley; if he reaches his 2020 level it will be a great pickup. I don't know exactly what went wrong for him at DSM; likely the same as with a lot of their top talent; I know he was hurt, then had the world's worst saddle sores...

I think Vlasov or Almeida both have solid TdF podium potential on the right course with the right support and both are still on an upward trajectory in their careers.