With Red Bull for the Roglic coup?
German cycling team is apparently about to get a superstar deal
October 2, 2023, 7:40 a.m
Giro winner Primoz Roglic will leave the top team Jumbo-Visma at the end of the season. For Roglic, this could be the chance to step out of the shadow of Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard and lead his own team, possibly even a German one.
With the expected announcement that he would be leaving the Dutch top team Jumbo-Visma after the season, cycling superstar Primoz Roglic caused a bang on Saturday and fueled rumors about his future. The German racing team Bora-hansgrohe is apparently also vying for the Slovenian. According to the “Global Cycling Network”, the team from the Bavarian Raubling is, along with Ineos Grenadiers, the top favorite to sign the 33-year-old world-class rider.
A first meeting between Roglic and Bora-hansgrohe representatives is said to have taken place at the training center in Austria. The World Tour team uses the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center near Salzburg. Allegedly, the beverage manufacturer of the same name, together with cycling supplier Spezialized, could now also help with the Roglic commitment and provide additional financial resources. In the fight for the reigning winner of the Giro d’Italia, there is currently a competitive bidding going on.
Five or six teams are apparently vying for Roglic
On the sidelines of the Giro dell’Emilia, Roglic admitted on Saturday that he currently had “five or six offers.” However, he doesn’t want to announce his final decision until after the last race of the season. Should he actually end up at Bora-hansgrohe, Roglic would be captain straight away – ahead of drivers like Alexander Vlasow or Jai Hindley, who were supposed to compete for victory in the big tours this year.
Roglic wants to step out of the shadow of Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard. He wants to compete for victory in the Tour de France and not act as co-captain. With a triumph in France he would complete the spectacular “Grand Tour” triple. In 2020 he came second once. He has already won the Giro and the Vuelta. Another reason for the escape is probably the possible merger with the Soudal-Quick Step team around former world champion Remco Evenepoel. Because the supermarket chain “Jumbo” is ending its sponsorship with the Dutch at the end of the coming season, this spectacular scenario is being discussed.
Jumbo-Visma drivers won all three major tours this year. In addition to Roglic’s Giro victory and Vingegaard’s success at the Tour de France, the American Sepp Kuss somewhat surprisingly triumphed at the Tour of Spain in September – ahead of Vingegaard and Roglic. The former ski jumper Roglic joined the team in 2016, which was then called Lotto-Visma.