BORA Magazine 01|2019 – English

Right at the start of

Right at the start of the season, in the north of France, the team demonstrated what they could do. Over the 250 kilometres of the spring classic, Paris–Roubaix, the team members showed that they are perfectly attuned to each other. The riders worked together in the peloton until powerhouse Peter Sagan attacked and ended up crossing the finish line first in the Roubaix Vélodrome. With his commanding victory in the ‘Hell of the North’ Sagan picked up the first Monument for BORA – hansgrohe. The importance of this win for group dynamics became clear as the season went on. Before going on to the most important tour of the year in France, the BORA – hansgrohe team set the bar high. At the Giro d’Italia, Irish sprint specialist Sam Bennett secured three stage wins, including the final stage which took them into Rome. In the Giro, Patrick Konrad and Davide Formolo also showed that they’re ones to be watched in the next few years – both classified in the top ten of the overall ranking. In the National road Championships, further victories were brought home as in the previous year. Up-and-coming talent Pascal Ackermann showed the German elite cyclists that they need to prepare for the worst. In Poland, Maciej Bodnar snatched the title in the individual time trial, his own particular discipline; in Slovakia, ‘rock star’ Peter Sagan celebrated a win and in Austria, all-rounder Lukas Pöstlberger triumphed. And then there was the Tour de France. They were aiming for not only one stage win, the green jersey, but also a top five result in the GC (general classification). But this could obviously only work with a well-attuned team. In the end the team wasn’t able to achieve all of its goals, but achievements were still celebrated. And not just any achievement. Already on the second day, on the stretch from Mouilleron- Saint-Germain to La Roche-sur-Yon, Peter secured the stage win in a nail-biting finale with a photo finish and the yellow jersey. ‘It was a real heart-stopping finale, but Peter brought home victory and the first yellow jersey in our team’s history. For our BORA – hansgrohe team that’s a pretty special moment that we’ll never forget,’ enthuses team manager Ralph Denk, looking back on the historical win. In the fifth stage, Sagan claimed his second stage win and with it the green jersey for the winner of the points classification. And he didn’t take it off again – he rode with it right to the end and across the finish line on the Parisian Champs- Élysées. ‘In the end we won three stages and secured the green jersey, achieving most of our goals,’ Ralph Denk explains. But the team was not only successful at the Tour, there were more victories to be celebrated. Young German Pascal Ackermann was particularly convincing in his performance. After his breakthrough in April in the Tour de Romandie, Right: The team missed out on a stage win by seconds, but Peter Sagan secured several well-earned second places in the Tour of Spain. 94 BORA MAGAZINE

CYCLING EXPERIENCE Left: Ackermann clinches victory in his first appearance in German colours in front of Buckingham Palace on the Prudential Ride in London. Right: Team manager Ralph Denk is visibly proud of his star Peter Sagan. In the Tour de France, the two of them and the rest of the team had reason for celebration. BORA MAGAZINE 95