"In his current form, it is almost impossible to beat Tadej Pogacar" admits Red Bull - BORA boss although he insists team have a plan of attack
Cycling
In their first season since gaining the added investment of global drinks powerhouse Red Bull, Ralph Denk's team have performed strongly, most notably taking a Grand Tour victory at the Vuelta a Espana through star signing Primoz Roglic. The Tour de France is the one Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe want but for that, the problem of Tadej Pogacar must be overcome.
"Everyone wants the new Pogacar, where can I sign?" Denk begins jokingly in conversation with In de Leiderstrui. "Pogacar is truly out of this world, the entire cycling world agrees with that. We have to deal with that and we have to come up with a smart way. In his current form, it is almost impossible to beat him."
As mentioned, Pogacar's compatriot, Primoz Roglic has come aboard and proven he still has Grand Tour winning capabilities in taking his record-equalling 4th Red Jersey success at the Vuelta a Espana. Roglic was a noted level below Pogacar at the Tour de France, even before he crashed out though, and as such, Denk hints a different plan may be needed to bring the Maillot Jaune back to Red Bull. "That is difficult, but we invest a lot in talent development and have set up a training team. With world champion Lorenzo Finn we have one of the best in his age category in the under 19 and with Florian Lipowitz and Giulio Pellizzari we have young men who have not done badly, right?" Denk explains, focusing on creating the next Tadej Pogacar-level talent. "
Rumours continue to circulate of a potential Tom Pidcock transfer too. "Is he better than the names mentioned?" Denk ponders. "You never know when a great talent will emerge, but when it does, development often goes quickly. We saw that with Remco and Tadej."
"Although I would ultimately say that it has been a good season for us. We have not only won the Vuelta a Espana, but also the Dauphiné and the Tour of Slovenia. We came second in the Giro d'Italia… We knew that the classics would be difficult, but that was better than expected," concludes Denk positively. "We have to talk to Primoz about next season. How will he perform this year? What are the courses? Then we can make decisions."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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santiagobenites07-11-2026 - Seriously why do they keep doing stupid things like this. Its one thing to relegate when the placings are minor, when the action is blatant. But when it is ambiguous, why dont they at least take advice from some higher up to avoid embarrassing themselves. This is similar to the Halland goal when his teammate was clearly offside and interfered in play and VAR gave them the goal. if you dont have evidence you cannot convict. Even for doping they have these rulesabstractengineer07-11-2026
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- What a travesty ! That little deviation did nothing to impede Brand !frieders307-11-2026
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- Looking at that photo she appears to be several feet from her. I’m not sure how that impeded brands sprint.mij07-11-2026
- Lucky to not get disqualified
leedorney07-11-2026
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