Amazing how far Sagan’s paypacket goesWith 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.
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Actually Denk's comment didn't sound great, but it also wasn't that bullying.
And no, Kämna didn't say that, at least not in public or that I know of.
Then I think this "mental health" expression is used very diffuse in sports lately, what is it actually meant to mean? A depression or anxiety disorder as recognized by the psychiatrists classification? Or also just a higher degree of performance anxiety, which, I think, many athletes have and with some it might become bigger in certain situations?
If you don't feel fit, if your body is still dealing with injury or illness for instance and you know you cannot perform at a level you yourself consider decent, it's no wonder to have doubts about whether you want to compete. Some might think athletes should always be diehard optimists and think it will all work out, but isn't it totally normal not to be?
And others might actually have problems in recognizing physical problems and train over what the body is able to do...
Such things are then certainly not handled perfectly mentally, but I wouldn't call that topic "mental health problems".
That being said I have no idea what it is for Kämna.
Here is an article about it:
Denk ärgert, dass Kämna nicht ehrlich zu sich und dem Team war | radsport-news.com
google translation:
Lennard Kämna was firmly planned for Bora - hansgrohe for this Tour de France. At the press conference before the start in Brest, the sports manager revealed how much his absence worries team boss Ralph Denk. At the same time he made it clear that "purely physical reasons" were decisive for the break. In 2018, Kämna had already taken a two-month break from the previous Sunweb team.
Denk was annoyed that last year's Tour stage winner hadn't revealed how sick he really was in preparation. "Lennard was over-motivated. He attacked every stage in Catalonia (where he won 5th, editor's note). Even with a touch of illness. He wasn't honest with himself and us. Then he's right got sick, "explained the Raublinger.
At first Bora - hansgrohe did not find out how much either before Kämna started again in the Algarve. "He was way above the point. After that, a break no longer worked. That's why we decided to take him off the tour and plan further goals for the fall," said Denk.
Denk summarized Kämna's mistake in one sentence: "Lennard went too far." The fact that this happened to a 24-year-old huge talent after grandiose stage victories at the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France last year speaks for the ambition of the North German, not against him. Think too, who immediately signed Kämna for another year, but also advised him to trust the team more. Denk: "Kämna has learned to update us more often about his physical condition."
Yeah Kämna said something along those lines. That the physical weighed on his mental and that a break was needed.
Ok Bora could not manage their 3 sprinters (Sagan , Bennett, Ackermann) in the last 3-4 years. Now they will try to manage 4 GC riders- Buchmann, Kelderman, Hindley and Vlasov. Good Luck with that and more entertainment for the viewers. And of course if Keldermann is on one side of the peloton, the other GC riders need to stay on the other side so as to maximize their chances.
Bora trying to get everyone that is in the free market! LOL.
All that money freed up from Sagan. Quite an expensive dude.
All that money freed up from Sagan. Quite an expensive dude.
Ackermann und Schwarzmann positiv auf Covid-19 | radsport-news.com
Ackermann and Schwarzmann corona-positive, so no more races for Bora by them.
Ackermann und Schwarzmann positiv auf Covid-19 | radsport-news.com
www.radsport-news.com
Ackermann and Schwarzmann corona-positive, so no more races for Bora by them.
I thought that was getting out of fashion.
Additionally to Aldag, Schmidt and Gasparotti (?) also Bernie Eisel will become a DS at Bora next year.
At the latest "Besenwagen" podcast they had Helmuth Dollinger as a guest and he confirmed those four.
Yeah, I'm not doubting the info, I just don't get why anyone would employ him as a DS... Taking it from the way he represents himself in the broadcasts I would go crazy if I was a rider and had to work with him... He doesn't come across as the smartest and he has an attitude / way of speaking that drives me crazy.
So, now Bora riders will probably do lead-outs for Cavendish.
Great news, wasn't a fan of his presenting work at Eurosport. His overlong, word-salad interview questions and analyses won't be missed.
He’ll be the first face the microphones get shoved in after any race where a Bora rider is in the top 5. You haven’t heard the last of Bernie yet!
You can take the mic from Bernie, but you cant take Bernie from the mic.
I´m pretty curious about Bora´s approach for the next season:
With
Keldermann
Buchmann
Vlasov
Hindley
Kämna
Higuita
Großschartner
Schachmann
Fabbro
they have a lot of GC Top10 potential in their rows, but not the one who could really win a Grand tour.
Then they have Bennett, who returned from Quick-Step and will of course also ride either the tour or/and the giro with a sprint train.
I am curious, how they will distribute their riders.
I assume for this year:
Giro:
Keldermann, Vlasov, Fabbro, Hindley, Großschartner
Tour:
Bennett, Buchmann, Schachmann, Kämna, Higuita
So a pretty german team for the tour, while the giro team is more for GC..
What do you think?
With
Keldermann
Buchmann
Vlasov
Hindley
Kämna
Higuita
Großschartner
Schachmann
Fabbro
they have a lot of GC Top10 potential in their rows, but not the one who could really win a Grand tour.
Then they have Bennett, who returned from Quick-Step and will of course also ride either the tour or/and the giro with a sprint train.
I am curious, how they will distribute their riders.
I assume for this year:
Giro:
Keldermann, Vlasov, Fabbro, Hindley, Großschartner
Tour:
Bennett, Buchmann, Schachmann, Kämna, Higuita
So a pretty german team for the tour, while the giro team is more for GC..
What do you think?
I think so, too. Schachmann will want to ride the tour. I think they will also go with Buchmann for the Tour. Then there will be the sprint train for Bennett at the Tour. Buchmann gets chance but not really much support. The rest of the teams goes for stages.
At the Vuelta and at the Giro they will really try to get on the podium with the other good GC riders.
At the Vuelta and at the Giro they will really try to get on the podium with the other good GC riders.
Bora management are clearly assembling this group of riders with an eye towards the possible launch of a “Most Top Tens without a Win” team competition
Their roster is a mess. They're like a football team who sold their star player for a lot of money and instead of filling the void with 1-2 really great signings splashed it on multiple guys hoping to somehow strike gold.
You could argue that Bennett was their main signing but they don't really back it up with a really good train, he'll have to fight for position a lot on his own. And as @Earns1985 has pointed out, they have a shitload of "potential GC top 10 guys" but no one really close for podium. If they go for 2-3 leaders approach they're gonna end up like a budget Movistar team.
I think their best approach should be like they did in the tour this year. Have on GC guy (Keldermann) who'll have GC freedom but basically gets told just to stick to wheels without bigger team support (which I think he was fine with) and have the rest of the team gunning for stage wins or other stuff on their own. This strategy got them two stage wins, plenty of coverage with Schellings Polkadot battle in the first week and 5th in GC - while a team like Movistar supported Mas for three weeks for no apparent reason.
Now, they can still do that again next year but what was the point of signing Hindley, Vlasov, Higuita etc.?
I think they can forget about a Tour podium and even the Vuelta seems unlikely. Honestly, their best shout for a top 3 is to send Buchmann to the Giro and pray for good weather (which is unlikely tbf). If its cold and rainy he's busted but with good weather that route suits him perfectly: lots of steady climbing and almost no TTs.
For the Tour I'd send Kelderman and Vlasov, Bennett with a train and gun for stage wins on every breakaway opportunity (e.g. Politt for the cobbled stage etc.).
But yeah, given that its a German team and how the public here only cares about the TdF, they'll probably send every German/Austrian to the Tour no matter if they really fit.
You could argue that Bennett was their main signing but they don't really back it up with a really good train, he'll have to fight for position a lot on his own. And as @Earns1985 has pointed out, they have a shitload of "potential GC top 10 guys" but no one really close for podium. If they go for 2-3 leaders approach they're gonna end up like a budget Movistar team.
I think their best approach should be like they did in the tour this year. Have on GC guy (Keldermann) who'll have GC freedom but basically gets told just to stick to wheels without bigger team support (which I think he was fine with) and have the rest of the team gunning for stage wins or other stuff on their own. This strategy got them two stage wins, plenty of coverage with Schellings Polkadot battle in the first week and 5th in GC - while a team like Movistar supported Mas for three weeks for no apparent reason.
Now, they can still do that again next year but what was the point of signing Hindley, Vlasov, Higuita etc.?
I think they can forget about a Tour podium and even the Vuelta seems unlikely. Honestly, their best shout for a top 3 is to send Buchmann to the Giro and pray for good weather (which is unlikely tbf). If its cold and rainy he's busted but with good weather that route suits him perfectly: lots of steady climbing and almost no TTs.
For the Tour I'd send Kelderman and Vlasov, Bennett with a train and gun for stage wins on every breakaway opportunity (e.g. Politt for the cobbled stage etc.).
But yeah, given that its a German team and how the public here only cares about the TdF, they'll probably send every German/Austrian to the Tour no matter if they really fit.
I would also send Buchmann to the Giro, but Bennett to the Vuelta. No train for anybody, just go for aggressive stage hunting.
Maybe something like this:
Giro
Buchmann with some helpers to the Giro,
Fabbro and Higuita partly as helpers, partly or if Buchmann's out of GC as stage hunters.
Tour
Kelderman and Vlasov as freelancer GC guys
Schachmann, Politt and Kämna as stage hunters
Vuelta
Bennett with a train as a focus.
I think they figured Sagan was an asset with diminishing returns. The results he was getting/will likely get in the future don't justify building a team around him, especially when they have other guys like Pollitt who can do as well or better at Roubaix, or Bennett who can win as many TdF stages.
I think your description of their GC plans is pretty accurate; Bennett will have probably 3 riders dedicated to his train (Mullen, vanPoppel, one of Archbold, Postlberger, Haller) and of the other 4, 1 as a designated GC leader to follow the yellow jersey group for as long as possible, and 2-3 other climbers/all-rounders who can go stage hunting. Those stage hunters who don't make the day's break, or were in the break yesterday, can then provide GC support to that leader as and when necessary (and the sprint train can support as far as they can in the foothills until they drop back to the Autobus).
A top 10 in the Tour de France is a prize still worth working towards, but they don't have a genuine GC victory contender in the squad. So sprint stage wins, plus breakaway stage wins, plus a high GC finish is still a worthy target until and unless they find a German GC contender.
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