"On paper Pogacar and Vingegaard have more experience racing with their teammates" - BORA DS on Primoz Roglic's signing and Tour de France preparation

Friday, 03 November 2023 at 10:51

Enrico Gasparotto heads BORA - hansgrohe at many of the world's biggest races behind the wheel and he will have the pleasure to support a leader such as Primoz Roglic next year. He tells how the signing was last-minute and negotiations only began after the Vuelta a Espana, and several other topics in a recent interview.

"When you change environment after many years, it always takes a while for everything to go in the best way. If we are the third wheel, he will want to say that there is something to improve and we are ready to do it," the former pro told Bici.Pro. "If we are one of the two arguing, he will want to say that the approach to the Tour was perfect. However, on paper Pogacar and Vingegaard have more experience racing with their teammates, they know the environment they are in and all this comes in handy at the Tour de France. Only one wins, but the importance of the team is clear. In short, low profile and then we'll see how it goes.

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Gasparotto thinks a lot about how it is necessary to build a block around the Slovenian and put it to use before the Tour. The Grand Boucle is Roglic's ultimate goal after winning both Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, and it is no secret where he will put his focus. Gasparotto is keen on having all the cogs in the wheel rolling beforehand. "Each leader has his own character and his own way of racing, so the team must adapt to his needs. A banal example: Hindley always loves to race in the top positions of the group. It's his nature, he's always had it and he asked his teammates to help him."

"This year at the Tour it took us a few days for them to adapt to Jai, because they hadn't done enough approaching races with him. Because we had many guys who did the Giro and then also the Tour. These are important dynamics, which concern half the captain and half the team."

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Alongside the new way of racing that the team will adapt to because of it's new leader, big questions naturally also lie on who will be part of his block. There are a lot of quality climbers and other riders in the team capable of doing the job, but decisions are yet to be made. "I can't answer this now. For sure, the boys will have their chances." Gasparotto tells however that it is necessary not to change everyone's role to a domestique as they look to keep many of their current quality figures within the team:

"Hindley, Vlasov and Kamna have contracts expiring in 2024, so we feel obliged to give everyone the chance to emerge, without closing their wings just because Primoz is there. He is certainly a winning rider, given that in 2023 he won 15 races and Bora, without national championships, won 17. It is clear that he is on a higher level, but it is also right to give space to the guys we have."