Primoz Roglic clear on 2024 goal: "We want to win the Tour of France. That may sound absurd, but we believe in it"

BORA - hansgrohe have had their first pre-season concentration in Austria, high up in the Alps where they skied, got to know their new teammates and got all riders and staff together up in a different environment.

Among those was Primoz Roglic who arrived later. An experienced ski jumper, he was happy to find himself once again in that environment. “Skiing was great fun, even though I hadn’t been on skis for a long time. Especially the young riders, who don't have much experience on skis, skied very well. It was great fun to be there as a ski instructor," Roglic told Krone. He got to meet new team riders such as Daniel Martínez, and leaders such as Jai Hindley.

Although briefly, he had some words to give on what is on his mind for his 2024 season: “It's no secret that we want to win the Tour of France. That may sound absurd, but we believe in it and will do everything we can to achieve it." In fact it is not absurd at all, the Slovenian is the reigning Giro d'Italia champion and was one of the most successful riders of the year - despite starting it late after a long rehabilitation in the winter.

There is no plan yet on the schedule that Roglic will follow in 2024 besides the Tour, however it is very viable that he will be in contention for several stage-races throughout the year. It will however be a very different environment that he will find himself in, now going against Jumbo-Visma. He has plenty quality climbers to support him throughout many different races.

Some of the team's DS' also talked about the upcoming year. “It's also new for us that we have a superstar like Roglic in the team," Bernhard Eisel said. "What's impressive to me is how much love and fun he has for the sport. He is absolutely unapologetic and shows that he is not a robot. That also rubs off on the younger riders.”

Team manager Ralph Denk added: “If word gets around that he no longer feels comfortable in his team, you have to jump on it immediately. Otherwise, five other teams have him. We have saved some money over the last few years and have now used it for his signing. We will certainly benefit from his experience and successes.”