A Grand Départ in Scandinavia, the cobbles of Roubaix, the high mountain passes of the Alps and the Pyrenees – the 109th edition of the Tour de France sets off on Friday in Copenhagen. For the 9th time, the team of Ralph Denk will be taking part in the cycling season’s most prestigious stage race. Inspired by the squad’s recent successes, BORA – hansgrohe is motivated and is heading to the start of the race in Denmark with the clear goal of aiming for GC success. Aleksandr Vlasov, Lennard Kämna, Maximilian Schachmann, Nils Politt, Felix Großschartner, Patrick Konrad, Marco Haller and Danny van Poppel are the eight riders heading to the Tour for BORA – hansgrohe.
“In general, it’s never an easy decision, we have such a strong team at the moment and we could have easily picked more than ten riders. The eight riders we have in the line-up now really deserve to be at the Tour. Why? Due to their strong current shape and because of what they have already achieved this season. We have performed very well in stage races so far, we’re on a path of becoming a GC team and with the selection of riders for this Tour de France, we’re pushing forward on this path. Aleksandr Vlasov is our GC leader, Felix Großschartner will be very important in the mountains but he’s also a strong TT rider, Patrick Konrad is a climber as well but also someone for a long breakaway or solo attack. Danny van Poppel is a rider who can guide a team in nervous race situations which we’re expecting in particular during the first week. With Nils Politt, we have a rider for the cobbles, a rider who is fully committed to the team and a rider who already proved he can take a solo stage win. Lennard Kämna played a very important role in our Giro success, and we see him in a similar role for the Tour. Max Schachmann had a tough spring but came back in really good shape over the past few weeks. Marco Haller, a loyal rider, a road captain and a very strong rider in a breakaway, can go for his own success as well.“ – Rolf Aldag, Head Sports Director
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve had three top-ten results in the Tour and now we’re aiming for a podium. Of course, it’s a tough goal but with the performance we’ve seen from Aleksandr Vlasov this season it’s a realistic goal and we have a strong team with full support for him over every terrain. We want to show an active and attacking style of racing, focus on the GC and maybe even take a stage win. I’d be very happy on the Champs-Élysées if we achieve these goals.“ – Ralph Denk, Team Manager
