Primoz Roglic's transfer to
BORA - hansgrohe was the most notable move of the winter and, according to
Johan Bruyneel, a win win for all parties involved.
"Plugge (Richard Plugge,
Jumbo-Visma CEO, ed.) did not just let Roglic leave without any compensation. He would be a bad businessman if he had done that. A lump sum payment of three million euros was involved," Johan Bruyneel tells in 'The Move' podcast. "If you add that to his salary, it actually amounts to a small sponsorship contribution in exchange for an experienced rider. This may be the best deal Plugge has ever made."
The Belgian believes that financially speaking, after the problems that Jumbo-Visma faced (with the departure of Jumbo as a title sponsor) this ended up being the perfect solution. Following the Vuelta a Espana the Slovenian quickly began talks with BORA - hasngrohe in search of sole leadership. A big compensation was payed to Jumbo-Visma and the Slovenian's salary was now not taken into account in 2024. It is estimated that combined, both gave €5 million euros of extra budget maneuver into the coming season. Without the need of a massive investment, the team was able to confirm the arrival of Lease a Bike. It will be called Visma-Lease a Bike from next season onwards.
BORA takes in a big leader, and Roglic himself sees his salary virtually doubled according to reports. "He is expected to earn around four million euros annually. When the rumors about this started, everything was quite confusing and unclear at first. In my opinion, this contributed to Roglic's choice to leave Jumbo-Visma," Bruyneel believes. "Still, I think that when Plugge looks back on the past two months, he can be very satisfied."