Bora-Hansgrohe has revealed their team for Tour de France. The roster was revealed on June 27th, Monday. What’s surprising is that Sam Bennett did not make the cut. Bennett, who has won stages at the Tour de France of 2020 along with wins at other major tours like the 2020 Vuelta a España and three stages at the 2018 Giro d’Italia, will have to wait out.
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The group of eight men includes Marco Haller and Max Schachmann, even though they were Covid-19 positive a few weeks ago. Nils Politt, Lennard Kämna and Patrick Konrad are also a part of the group. They have won stages at the past Tour de France. Other names include Danny van Poppel and Felix Großschartner. It looks like Sam will be waiting on the bench with Cavendish and Dennis.
📝 PRESS RELEASE: @ale_vlasov as BORA – hansgrohe’s GC leader for @LeTour 🇫🇷
Read more here: https://t.co/G1dqORPeK9 #BandOfBrothers pic.twitter.com/5DUkU94ObP
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) June 28, 2022
Sam was a part of Deceuninck–Quick-Step when he won stages in the tours of 2018 and 2020. He joined Bora-Hansgrohe, and we expected him to be a vital part of the team. Unfortunately, he could not compete in 2021, given to his injury. Rolf Aldag, the sports director, says that it’s never easy to make a roster for the Tour. In his own words:
It’s never an easy decision because the roster is so strong, and we could easily have picked 10, 11, or 12 guys
But he didn’t mention anything about Bennett as he continued:
We have done well in stage races this year. As well as the Giro, we won Valencia, Catalunya, and Romandie, which shows the direction the team needs to go
The 31-year-old has had a difficult start with 2022, as he made a comeback from a long rest. But his win on May 1st, at Eschborn-Frankfurt, spoke a lot about the direction he was heading. He ended up fourth at the Baloise Belgium Tour, and his fortune was expected to upscale after such a beguiling performance.
Aleksandr Vlasov, the man who is expected to lead the team in the Tour, just recently recovered from Covid-19. He had to withdraw from the Tour de Suisse because of the illness. The management has built their team around Vlasov because they believe Aleksandr can finish on the podium. He switched from Astana to Bora-Hansgrohe and has performed really well in the team’s jersey.
Team manager, Ralph Denk, clarified the goals they had in mind while selecting the final team:
We are aiming for the podium. It’s a tough goal but when we see Aleksandr Vlasov’s results, it’s a realistic goal. It would be nice if we could achieve a stage win as well
Also Read: QuickStep-AlphaVinyl Announces Tour De France Roster
Featured Image Via Twitter/ BORA – hansgrohe
