It wasn’t an entirely new endeavour, given that Emanuel Buchmann had already finished just off the podium of the Tour de France three years ago, but Bora-Hansgrohe’s decision to pivot more markedly towards the general classification of Grand Tours could scarcely have gone much better than it did in 2022.
Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov were the marquee signings of the post-Peter Sagan era, and their arrival signalled a distinct change in emphasis. Even a rotten run of results in Spring – due largely to having so many riders laid low with illness – was greeted with relative calm by management, which now included Rolf Aldag.
Since the depths of winter, Bora-Hansgrohe had made the Giro d’Italia the centrepiece of their new GC strategy, and they deployed most of their top climbers – bar Vlasov – at the race, with designs on carrying the maglia rosa to Verona. The sheer depth of talent in their squad made its presence felt on stage 14, a hilly circuit race around Turin, where Wilco Kelderman shredded the race before Hindley proved to himself that he had the measure of the pre-race favourite Richard Carapaz.
The onslaught that afternoon was planned by another new addition, directeur sportif Enrico Gasparotto, and his tactical invention was to the fore once again on the penultimate stage up the Marmolada, where Lennard Kämna dropped back from the early break to produce a race-altering stint of pace-making on Hindley’s behalf. The Australian, in turn, sprinkled a little stardust on a Giro high in suspense but low on excitement with his race-winning acceleration in the final 3km.
“We’re not here to put socks on centipedes, mate,” became Hindley’s catchphrase on the Giro, and it neatly summed up the attitude that set Bora-Hansgrohe apart from so many other teams with similar strength in depth. Rather than go through the motions with by-the-numbers stints of pace-making, Bora-Hansgrohe picked and chose their moments across the Giro, believing a well-timed ambush to be more effective than a telegraphed show of strength.
In 2023, Bora-Hansgrohe will no longer be a surprise package, of course, even if Hindley will make his Tour debut as something of an outsider given the presence of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). The mountainous route, with just 22km of time trialling, will certainly be to Hindley’s liking, and while his Giro feats may not have come against Pogacar et al, some of the numbers he produced in Italy in 2020 and 2022 bore comparison with what the best riders managed in France.
Hindley, in other words, should not be underrated, even if it remains to be seen if Bora-Hansgrohe can wreak the same sort of havoc in July against a peloton of significantly greater depth than the Giro. Buchmann will flank Hindley at the Tour, and though the departed Kelderman – now at Jumbo-Visma – will be a loss, Bora-Hansgrohe can still rely on riders of the calibre of Sergio Higuita and Max Schachmann on rugged terrain.
Not that the squad has staked everything on GC in July, where Sam Bennett is pencilled in to target the sprints. Indeed, as in 2022, Bora-Hansgrohe look set to send a GC team of considerable depth to the Giro, with Vlasov - fourth overall in the race in 2021 - will lead the line.
Vlasov finished fifth overall on his Tour debut in 2023, despite contracting COVID-19 shortly beforehand, and he was solid if unspectacular from Copenhagento Paris. It was in keeping with a hugely impressive maiden season at Bora in which the Russian won the Tour de Romandie and Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, as well as placing third at Fleche Wallonne and Itzulia Basque Country.
The 70km of time trialling on the Giro will certainly be to Vlasov’s liking, and he lines out as one of the men most likely to challenge the favourite Remco Evenepoel, while Kämna and new arrival Bob Jungels provide the backbone of his supporting cast. In year two of Bora’s pivot to the Grand Tours, they will set out from Abruzzo with understandable ambition.
Other storylines to follow in 2023
- Sam Bennett endured a most frustrating return to Bora-Hansgrohe, but a brace of early stage wins at the Vuelta a España confirmed that he remains one of the very fastest finishers in the peloton. 2022 being 2022, Bennett left the race with COVID-19 soon afterwards, but he can look to the new campaign with justifiable confidence. If Bennett can win early and often in 2023, he should return to the Tour, regardless of the team’s focus on GC.
- Two bouts of COVID-19 meant that the steadily rising trajectory of Max Schachmann’s career flattened somewhat in 2022, but the two-time Paris-Nice winner will look to get back on track this year, starting at the Tour Down Under. Weeklong stage races and the Ardennes Classics will again be the focus, though his aggressive instincts might also take him a long way at the Tour of Flanders, which he has added to his programme this year.
- Cian Uijtdebroeks jumped directly from the junior peloton to the professional ranks last year, though Bora sagely kept the Belgian away from WorldTour races to allow him to develop quietly. The 19-year-old still underlined his potential by becoming the youngest ever Tour de l’Avenir winner, and he is pencilled in for a heavier duty racing programme in 2023. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he picked up a big result or two along the way.
- Arterial endofibrosis meant that much of Bob Jungels’ two-year stint at AG2R was non-descript, but his Tour de France stage win was a timely reminder of his gifts. Still only 30 years of age, and with his physical issues now seemingly behind him, Jungels’ dexterity makes him a canny signing by Bora-Hansgrohe. The Luxembourger looks set to target the Tour of Flanders in April before riding alongside Vlasov in a time trial-heavy Giro.
