"Do not forget that Primoz does have a kick, which Jonas and Tadej also have" - Rolf Aldag

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe have shared their lineup for the Tour de France, only with three climbers. Primoz Roglic is aiming for a strong result and is coming into the race under the radar, but the German team has a very strong lineup to support him on all terrains and be in the fight for the final podium.

"Certainly we believe in him, and certainly we think it's realistic he can bounce back again, because it is like that: when something went wrong, he comes back better, that's his nature. That's his normal behaviour, and we do hope that it happens at the Tour," Rolf Aldag told Cyclingnews. "But it's not just only hope. It's also looking at data, looking at numbers – he will be ready. Therefore, we absolutely do not see a reason not to be optimistic about the Tour de France with him". 

"We have to play it smart, and like everybody else, we have to avoid crashing with all our riders. How do we do that? Stay together as a team. Work as a team. Be prepared, know the course, and even then, still things can happen, but I do believe we can't be prepared better than we are this year."

Florian Lipowitz will come in as a co-leader whilst Aleksandr Vlasov will be a luxury domestique most likely. The rest of the team will split focus between supporting Jordi Meeus' sprinting ambitions and positioning the Slovenian and German climbers throughout the many treacherous stages.

And of course, Tadej Pogacar will be the man to beat, but anything can happen in three weeks. "We're not hoping for anything bad to happen, but we remember when Tadej ran completely out of energy, and there was the scene when you hear him on the microphone completely done, losing minutes and minutes.

"What gives us a realistic perspective is that we deal with humans, not with robots. If we just say Primoz, Tadej, Jonas, and Remco are machines, well, it would be pretty predictable and you would know the outcome… But they're not, so dealing with humans always leaves a chance for errors and for outstanding performances as well," he argues.

Roglic withstood another big disappointment, having to abandon the Giro d'Italia after a set of crashes that hampered him and ultimately forced him to leave the race in the final week. After going through the preparation and most of the Giro, the commitment was full to the Corsa Rosa and the Tour de France's preparation remained unchanged.

But this went quite well for the Slovenian: "Time at altitude, he really enjoys, and I do think the focus and the condition is there. But of course, first you have to overcome every disappointment in your career, and then you can move on in life – he's pretty good at that. I think we are all very confident that he's in the needed shape for the Tour, mentally and physically.

"He's just not the 22-year-old anymore who lives the life of a rockstar; he's a family person. I do think that's also important, and then not to divide or interrupt the whole system and make him say, 'Well, what do I do now? Do I hang out with my teammates? Do I spend time with my family?'"

Last year he was in contention for the podium until he crashed out, as has been happening too often in the Grand Tours. "He's still in that range of favorites, and I do think that's how the race will unfold. For him as well, to see what he, Remco, Jonas, and Tadej can do, see how they fight it out, that's going to be what I see as a big fight there."

"...We've seen Tadej Pogačar and what he has done so far this season, that's pretty impressive, and you know who is the clear favorite – we don't really have to discuss it. I do think that we go along with that, but there are always opportunities and chances. And why would people underrate Primoz? I think within the bunch, they definitely won't do that. Would they allow him to go into an early breakaway and give him five minutes?

Aldag also assures that the Slovenian continues to be quite explosive and can put this to good use throughout the three weeks: "You stay there, you follow there. Do not forget that Primoz does have a kick, which Jonas and Tadej also have, but I don't really see that we would pull on the second last climb, trying to make it super hard and then keep the speed. I do think there are two teams that are able to do that, who are willing to do that".