The German cycling team Red Bull is experiencing a Tour de France to forget. Now it wants to reinvent itself. During the tour. And afterwards.
After cycling star Primoz Roglic’s exit from the Tour de France, everything is different for the top German team Red Bull. “The Tour is not over. But it doesn’t make things any easier for us to shine here now,” said sports director Rolf Aldag. “For us as a team, it’s now time to reinvent ourselves,” he added after the disappointing Tour de France so far.
The injury-related loss of Alexander Vlasov and ultimately the withdrawal of Roglic after his crashes sealed the final end of all dreams of winning the Tour for the team from Raubling. Roglic may compete in the Spanish Vuelta, which begins on August 17. “We will sit down with Primoz in the next few days and discuss our next goals,” announced team boss Ralph Denk on ARD.
Change is coming
Red Bull doesn’t want to complain too much. “Self-pity doesn’t help,” said Aldag. So what should the reinvented team look like? The team is hoping for a few stages that might suit the six remaining riders. “It’s only possible to do breakaway groups and ride offensively,” explained the sports director.
The team is likely to change significantly for the new season. This had already been indicated before the energy drink manufacturer joined as the main sponsor shortly before the Tour. More young talent, investments across the board. “The team is being restructured and strengthened in the background. I’m not just talking about racers, but also about employees. Cycling is now so obsessed with details that you need an employee for every detail,” Denk told the German Press Agency.
A departure and some rumors
Above all, the rider line-up is likely to change noticeably. It was recently announced that Red Bull is losing its climbing specialist Lennard Kämna. According to speculation, the 27-year-old is moving to Lidl-Trek. This means that after Emanuel Buchmann, fourth in the Tour in 2019, the next loss of a German figurehead is imminent.
Since the partnership with Red Bull was announced, many riders have been linked with the racing team. Jan Tratnik from the team led by Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard and New Zealander Laurence Pithie are set to join the team, according to media reports.
According to a report in the Belgian newspaper “Het Laatste Nieuws”, the team is also said to be showing strong interest in Remco Evenepoel. With the current second in the overall rankings, the team could get a real star who will guarantee victories and possibly even win the Tour one day. However, Evenepoel is still contractually bound to Soudal-Quick Step.
Source: Stern
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