Teamwork makes the dream work
29 professional cyclists from 14 different countries in one team. After all, teamwork makes the dream work in cycling. Even though only one of them can be the first over the finish line, winning is a success for the whole team because you can’t win in cycling without domestiques who provide slipstreams, grab water bottles, keep the competition at bay and lead out the sprinters in the sprint.
Teamwork is a top priority in the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team; it’s how the team has developed, improved and become more successful. The team started in the third division in 2010, still under the NetApp team name, and constantly evolved and improved. BORA got its first taste of sponsoring in 2012, having its logo appear on the jersey’s sleeve. Then three years later, in 2015, BORA decided to do it properly and became the main sponsor. Since they did, the team has come on in leaps and bounds. After the title sponsor Hansgrohe came on board in 2017, the team was finally fit for the UCI WorldTour, cycling’s premier league. The squad grew, with team members such as Peter Sagan from Slovakia joining. Known as the “rock star of international cycling”, he helped develop the team athletically and clinch some impressive, at times record-breaking, wins, such as his third consecutive World Championship (2017), his sixth and seventh green “points” jerseys at the Tour de France (2018 and 2019). He also brought the team its first “Monument” victory at the Paris–Roubaix race (2018), its first yellow jersey at the Tour de France (in the second stage of the 2018 race) and the Maglia Ciclamino jersey for winning in the points classification at the Giro d’Italia. He was by no means the team’s only key to success. Pascal Ackermann from Germany (36 wins) and Sam Bennett from Ireland (44 wins) worked hard to help rack up the victories for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. With BORA as the main sponsor, the team had bagged an impressive 235 wins by the end of 2023, including 31 national championships (20 road races and 11 time trials) and one World Championship.
In the 2022 season, when appointing newcomers and determining its race tactics, BORA - hansgrohe focused on stage races and consequently on general classification specialists. What was initially conceived as a lengthy process already led to success in the first Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia. Jai Hindley not only clinched the first Grand Tour podium for BORA - hansgrohe, he also triumphed across the board and got to don the prestigious pink jersey (known as the ‘maglia rosa’ in Italian) in the Arena di Verona.
The team remains steadfast on one crucial point: they want to nurture young talent in the team and lead them to success. Being mindful of the bigger picture and open to solutions that aren’t immediately obvious have paid off in the past. As such, athletes have joined the team from the worlds of mountain biking, ski mountaineering, mountain running and biathlon.
Ralph Denk’s Raubling-based team achieved a real transfer coup for the 2024 season and succeeded in signing Olympic gold medallist and multi-time Grand Tour and monument winner Primož Roglič. Roglič should not only help achieve top results at tours but also pass on his experience to the younger cyclists on the team. Joined by Red Bull, the team has been flying through races under the name Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe since the 2024 Tour de France
