"There was a miscommunication" - BORA and Primoz Roglic struggle and lose time on Algarve's summit finish

Cycling is a complex sport and although at times riders and teams make it look easy and composed, more often than not that isn't the case. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe have made a mistake on stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve, Jan Tratnik admits, and Primoz Roglic has lost meaningful time over an error in communication.

Jan Tratnik talked to journalist Daniel Benson after the stage and explained the team's tactics. "The goal was to make the race as hard as possible on that climb. Primoz was a bit at the back, and then there was a miscommunication. I didn't know whether I should ride in front or not, but then Primoz came forward and I thought he had good legs".

BORA pushed the pace hard in the penultimate climb to Pomba, with Roglic himself attacking - and then doing so again in the descent - but it was never clear the reason for the move. The Slovenian didn't make the difference, and then isolated, the team couldn't chase the winning move of a small group including Jan Christen.

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"We tried, because this climb was a bit more distinctive, but in the end it was more of a cat and mouse game," Tratnik explains. This doesn't come as a surprise taking into consideration the climbs' characteristics, but in the end the German team saw Roglic spend more time than hoped in the wind, and in the final kilometer he lacked his usual explosivity. Eventually he raced to ninth on the day only, losing a few seconds to João Almeida and Jonas Vingegaard who are still expected to be his main rivals for the final time-trial.

However, when it comes to the overall victory, it certainly puts the veteran on the back foot. Nevertheless, Tratnik is not too pessimistic over the performance, and was happy to race with his compatriot in the mountains once again. "It was good. It was the first race with Primoz, and we are slowly getting there".

""It is the start of the season, and we still have time for the bigger goals. We were not lucky in Bessèges, because cars cancelled the race. But I know that I am in good shape, so I really want to test myself here," he assured.

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See the preliminary startlist of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2025 right here including Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock, Biniam Girmay, Arnaud De Lie & Jan Tratnik

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