🇫🇷 #TDF2024 What can we expect from our Aussie? 👀 Jai gives some insights after today’s stage 🎙️
"If there is a top, top rider on the market next year, maybe now we can sign them" - BORA DS describes new possibilties with Red Bull on board
CyclingSunday, 14 July 2024 at 04:00
The battle for potential Grand Tour contenders is becoming more and more intense, with teams look for promising talents from very young age. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe already have secured the services of four-time grand tour winner Primoz Roglic until 2025, however the head sports director Rolf Aldag ensures that the ambitions don't stop there and the team is already looking further into future.
The best shot at acquiring a top GC contender would come in 2026 when Remco Evenepoel's current contract at Soudal - Quick-Step will run out. "With Red Bull, it means if there is a top, top rider on the market next year, maybe now we can sign them," Aldag told Velo. "That would take the stress off the whole organization if we have a winner for the next two, three, four years. It’s not like we are going to say if there are top, top riders on the market that we are not interested."
But Aldag looks even beyond potential replacement for Roglic, as he'd ideally prefer to grow the next Tour winner within the team's own development structure. "If you just plan eight years from now, OK, we know that you’re 17 now, but you must win the Tour de France in six years," Aldag said. "If we can have some consistency already from 2025 and beyond, that will mean these younger riders don’t have the pressure to do it now."
The ideal scenario would involve buying Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard out of their contracts, however Aldag recons that's not really possible. "If you say you want to win the Tour de France, no matter what, you’re competing against teams with a lot of money," Aldag said. "If you say, OK, I want to buy Tadej Pogacar out of his contract, you face the Emirates when money will not shock them at any case. In the past, it has been easier to buy riders."
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- yeah, that’s a more fair assessment. “reaching mathieu’s level” doesn’t mean you’re planning to replicate his whole career. the former IS doable, potentially. it’s just the latter that likely is not.OCexile25-12-2024
- That’s not entirely true. Every person follows their own development path and peaks differently. Remco and Primoz had hardly started cycling before elite level. Jonas was pretty much under the radzr until he unexpectedly had to take over responsibility at JV. Some guys only get real good in their thirties others have peaked mid-twenties. You can’t tell in advance how and upto what level they will progress, obviously his career might not have MVDPs length but nothing says he could not end up doing a few seasons at his level.Mistermaumau25-12-2024
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- Ok, happy I’m not too interested in this team coz’ the account of what happened is really hard to follow.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- The UCI is worse than USA CyclingVeganpotter24-12-2024
- It's not like they wanted her to not win😅 She had an outstanding Olympics. But there's a reason why she wasn't expected to win the road race and that's ok. Things like this happen and it's great...better than seeing expected winners win.Veganpotter24-12-2024
- Bruyneel ? The man with a lifetime ban from cycling...why do you keep giving him and his doper mate, Armstrong, a platform?DJ24-12-2024
- yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.OCexile24-12-2024