In the past two weeks, the cycling world has been in turmoil, with Jumbo-Visma being the main cause of it. So far, the big winner in all of this appears to be BORA-Hansgrohe, thanks to their successful signing of Primož Roglič.
The almost 34-year-old leader of the Dutch team was allowed to leave, even though he had a valid contract. “After the departure of Peter Sagan, the arrival of Primož represents the next significant milestone for us,” said Ralph Denk, owner of Bora-Hansgrohe, during a press conference on Friday morning.
First of all, what can you tell us about the timeline of this major transfer? ‘Eight years ago, I met Primož at a brewery in Salzburg. We had already made him an offer (in 2015, Roglič eventually chose Jumbo-Visma). Coincidentally, I found that contract in the office on Thursday. I can also reveal that adding a zero to that value would not be enough now (laughs).
During the last week of the Vuelta a España, I heard rumors about the possible merger between Soudal-Quick-Step and Jumbo-Visma. From there, I listened closely to Primož’s interviews. I felt that he was no longer as happy at Jumbo-Visma.’
But I also think that Primož was not entirely satisfied with the result of the Vuelta. When I contacted him, he was open to a conversation. Things changed rapidly after the Vuelta a España. In the end, we reached an agreement, and the signatures were signed on Thursday.”
How did you manage to convince him to choose BORA-hansgrohe? “Our main argument was that we believe in him. We showed this eight years ago during our first meeting when nobody recognized Roglič’s potential, but I did. We still believe in him. I think that was the key to signing him.”
What was Red Bull’s role in attracting Roglič? “They have been involved with our team for several years in what we call a project partnership. The first project was to transform Anton Palzer from a ski mountaineer into a professional cyclist. The second project was the Junior Brothers, a scouting project jointly launched by Red Bull and BORA-Hansgrohe. The third one is the establishment of the APC, the Athlete Performance Center. This can be used for medical examinations, exercise testing, and our scouts also work there. That’s basically our collaboration.
So, I can also confirm that this deal was not financed by Red Bull. The funding was done by ourselves and not by other sponsors, new sponsors, or current sponsors.”
How long does the contract last, and will Roglič also bring his coach Marc Lamberts? “I cannot make any statements about the terms and details of Primož’s contract. Most contracts contain confidentiality clauses, including ours. That’s why I can’t say anything about it, but of course, this collaboration will last more than one year. I can confirm that.
I can say about Mark Lamberts that he does not have a contract for 2024 yet. He would be a good addition for us. But we do not have an agreement with him at the moment. For now, we only have that with Primož. If that changes, we will communicate about it at the appropriate time.
