“This signing could be fantastic for Jai Hindley" - BORA-hansgrohe's acquisition of Primoz Roglic could help Australian move to the next level

BORA - hansgrohe have completed the biggest signing of the transfer window to date with the acquisition of Primoz Roglic from Jumbo-Visma. One man who could be set to benefit most could be former Giro d'Italia winner, Jai Hindley.

“When I first heard the rumour of Roglic joining BORA - hansgrohe, thinking about Jai Hindley's leadership position, I hoped it wasn't true,” recalls cycling commentator and expert Matthew Keenan to Aussie-based SBS Sport. “I hoped that he was leaving Jumbo, as he wants another chance at the Tour yet he was never going to get that at Jumbo, but I didn't want it to be for Bora. I was hoping he'd go to Bahrain.”

Having taken more time to think about it though, Keenan believes Roglic and Hindley working alongside each other could see the Australian move to the next level. “Even though Jai Hindley has won the Giro d'Italia he's not one of the big favourites for the Tour de France,” Keenan explains. “Vingegaard and Pogacar are in their own category, Jai is in the next group and so is Roglic, Remco Evenepoel, Carlos Rodriguez and I'd have Juan Ayuso with these guys if he wasn't on UAE with Pogacar."

“If Roglic and Hindley can genuinely work together, having two contenders increases the chances of BORA winning the Tour or at least getting on the podium," he continues. “BORA can assemble one of the strongest teams for the Tour de France. Roglic and Hindley supported by Lennard Kamna, Emanual Buchmann and Aleksandr Vlasov makes for an incredible combination in the mountains, with Marco Haller, Nico Denz and Danny van Poppel providing plenty of muscle everywhere else. Plus, they've signed Dani Martinez for the next four years. It's a super team.”

“If Hindley and Roglic can work together, the same way Hindley did with Wilco Kelderman, when they finished 2nd and 3rd at the Giro, this signing could be fantastic for Hindley,” Keenan concludes. “Roglic will be the centre of attention, which takes some pressure off Jai Hindley. It also gives him a greater chance of being able to make the sort of move he did on Stage 5 at this year's Tour de France. If they get the working relationship right, across the whole team, this can be great for Jai Hindley. But make no mistake, Roglic will want to be the number one man at the Tour for BORA.”