BORA face tough decision for Vuelta a Espana as they look to combine GC and Sam Bennett's ambitions - "We’ve got lots of options"

BORA - hansgrohe have been very successful at the Giro d'Italia with an overall win and an all-round strong performance, and at the Tour de France they finished on the Top5 despite having their leader Aleksandr Vlasov suffering from injuries. At the Vuelta a Espana they are looking to build on that, and have many cards to play with - which may become an issue.

“We do have world-class riders in every area, with Sam Bennett in the sprints. Then of course there’s the GC. So the long list is pretty long, and we’ve got lots of options," Rolf Aldag, DS for the German Team, told Cyclingnews. Sergio Higuita has been named early in the season as a rider focusing solely on the Vuelta, whilst he will likely have the company of Giro winner Jai Hindley, alongside Wilco Kelderman and Emanuel Buchmann who have been of important support in the mountains this year and will be a necessity in such a tough race.

Ideally, this would not be a problem. However, as Sam Bennett failed to have the necessary form to ride the Tour de France, he found himself in the team's plans to ride the Vuelta. One of the team's leaders, his absence would be a blow, however his recent Tour de Pologne did not see the best signs from the Irishman. With a lot of necessary support for it's GC riders, but on the other side the motivation of the team's main sprinter who was just signed back this season, Aldag is having to find himself fitting all pieces of the puzzle for the best result in the short and long-term future.

“At the same time, we are in a transition towards GC racing, and the team manager Ralph Denk made it pretty clear what we are aiming for. Winning a Grand Tour was a three-year project but we did it May. So that also gives us the freedom not to have to chase something we've already achieved," he explained however, revealing the team has room to not go all-in on a GC tilt as they did back in May. "It’s that’s a pretty luxurious situation to be in".

Matteo Fabbro, Anton Palzer and Frederik Wandahl are currently in the long-list for the Vuelta, however if Bennett is to be present the team there is likely to be at least one or two riders in support for the leadout. “There’s a lot of learning still to do though, so it might be interesting to learn just how to combine a sprinter’s team with GC goals and see what type of riders you need," Aldag said, hinting at that possibility.

As for when a final decision is to be made, he is evaluating judging on the performances of the team throughout all the races during this week: “People do get their heads around why they are or aren’t selected. So we will give it until after the three races, Burgos, Pologne and Sazka, and then decide.”

Now with all completed in the meantime, it's time for a cool-down and time to make a decision into the weekend where the German team is expected to, as will most other teams, announce who they will be having.