In the cycling world, people need stamina not only on the handlebars, but also on the steering wheel. On Wednesday morning Ralph Denk got into a team car and typed Brest into his navigation system. The self-confessed self-driver always follows the cycling circus to the European locations by car. It’s a 15-hour drive, 1,500 kilometers, from the headquarters of the Bora-hansgrohe team in Raubling in Upper Bavaria to the north-western tip of France in Brittany.
There are 3383 kilometers to cover for the professional cyclists in the Tour de France, which starts this Saturday with the Grand Départ in Brest. With “a big chest and eight racing drivers who are in great shape,” says team boss Denk, the top German team will start at the season’s highlight. And yet, in addition to a few uncertainties, the German team also has a lot of pressure in their luggage to shine again on the big state tour stage where the music plays: in the overall standings.
Since the surprising fourth place of the Swabian Emmanuel Buchmann in the 2019 Tour, no professional of the team has finished in the top five at the Giro in Italy, the Tour in France or the Vuelta in Spain. Although this has been the ambition of the ambitious Raublinger cycling company for a while. It should be top level and nothing below that with a formation supported by the best German racing drivers and some international specialists.
Target stage win
A driver among the top five, Peter Sagan in the green jersey of the best sprinter on the Champs-Elysées in Paris and at least one stage win: Bora-hansgrohe is starting the tour with this target, which is identical to last year. In 2020 only the wish for a day’s success was fulfilled by Lennard Kämna, who was scheduled for the squad again this year, but needed a break after a delayed infection. “He made a mistake because of a portion of over-motivation,” says Denk.
Nils Politt (front): A stage hunter for Bora-hansgrohe on the tour.
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Image: dpa
In 2021, too, compared to the personnel strength of other top teams, it will have to run almost optimally in order to achieve the targets. In the overall standings, the team relies on newcomer Wilco Kelderman. The Dutchman, almost unknown in this country, who has suffered frequent falls in his career and therefore did not get into step as expected, leads the German squad as captain.
Kelderman, 30 years old, had staged third place at the Giro d’Italia last year and this season proved his competitiveness among the best with fourth place in the well-attended Dauphiné Tour. Kelderman is assisted by Emanuel Buchmann, who fought his way into the tour team after his fall at the Giro – he got out afterwards. In the coming year, the Swabian should lead the team again in the Tour of France.
Peter Sagan and the green jersey
The star of the racing team, Peter Sagan, is aiming to win his eighth green jersey. Is his last time driving the tour in the jersey of the German team, which he helped from a supporting role in the peloton to the top of the peloton? The four-year contract of the three-time world champion expires at the end of the year. “Since April,” says Denk, “there has been wild speculation about how things will continue. We will talk to each other on the rest days of the tour and see whether we can come to an agreement or not. We as a team are willing to continue working with one of the greatest personalities in the field. “
Mo. – Fr. at 4 pm; Sa. – So. at 6 p.m.
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Without a doubt, a decision of great significance for the direction of the team. Sagan is not only a high earner, but you can only get him with a large entourage that occupies many permanent positions in the structure. The decision will probably have an impact on Pascal Ackermann’s whereabouts. The man from Palatinate has developed into one of the strongest sprinters in the field at Bora. Team boss Denk was faced with the question of whether the classic sprinter Ackermann with his required approach and the fast but differently inclined Sagan fit together in a tour formation.
“We would have had a clear strategy for this. Pascal could even have helped Peter with stage wins because he would have taken points away from competitors in the fight for the green jersey. But for that, Pascal should have been a guarantee of victory, ”says Denk. And so the deeply disappointed Ackermann watches from home as the profile of the 2021 tour gives the sprinters more opportunities than they have for years.
The 27-year-old German accused Denk Wortbruch because he had assured him that he would be nominated for the tour until the end of his contract in 2021. Denk says that this promise has always been linked to athletic performance and that Ackermann, who has not yet won this season, does not currently have it. Especially since the Slovak Sagan seems to be in good shape despite Covid infection in spring with three season successes, including one day’s success at the Giro.
Last year, Bora-hansgrohe proved on the tour that as a team it can provide a powerful pace in the peloton. But so many actions fizzled out ineffectively. Perhaps the German team will already be offensive at the amuse gueule on this tour in Brittany. The two hilly and wind-prone stages at the beginning of the weekend promise, not least because the yellow jersey attracts half the field to become full-throttle events.
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