Review - "My personal goal remains: I want to win the Tour"

00:00:02: Inside Red Bull Bora Hans-Grohe, the OVB online podcast on The Tour de France.

00:00:08: For three weeks we accompany team manager Ralph Denk and the biggest and most successful German cycling team through The Tour De France.

00:00:18: Do you have questions for Ralph Denke?

00:00:21: Send them to Tobias dot roof

00:00:23: at

00:00:24: ovbmedia dot d And now enjoy a new episode!

00:00:31: The Tour de France, twenty-twenty six has ended.

00:00:34: Mathieu van der Poel wins in Paris.

00:00:36: Tadej Pogacar is the overall winner for the fifth time.

00:00:39: Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe takes second place In the general classification with Remko Evernepool Wins two stages and celebrates the most successful tour in its history.

00:00:48: over all We tune in one last time this year to France To the team manager of Red Bull Bora Hansgroe.

00:00:54: Hello to Ralph Denk!

00:00:59: Ralph it is Monday, eleven thirty.

00:01:01: Where can I reach you?

00:01:03: We are on our way home or i am on my way home at Charles de Gaulle Airport and we're flying back towards Munich now

00:01:10: Exactly so.

00:01:11: if there's airport background noise please excuse that.

00:01:14: So Ralf, let us talk briefly about what we saw on Sunday.

00:01:18: The final stage... What was going there yesterday?

00:01:22: The images were impressive!

00:01:24: The images are impressive as the rice results or the outcome of the rice was also impressive.

00:01:29: Well a breakaway group may head over there.

00:01:31: Final sprint, after all.

00:01:33: And a phenomenal Mathieu van der Poel who probably pulled away from Tadeh Pogacar in the final meters wins yes I believe by half bike length ahead of his teammate.

00:01:47: so that was pure cycling and it really is mega cool race and really exciting for fans.

00:01:56: What came to my mind?

00:01:57: We talked about those long-winded flat stages.

00:02:01: Looking at what we saw yesterday, wouldn't that be an alternative?

00:02:04: Let me take you through my thoughts.

00:02:07: For example You target three major cities start there only around five p.m.. And the finish is at prime time.

00:02:15: a relatively short circuit designed for sprinters and breakaway riders as We saw Yesterday.

00:02:20: The general classification riders could Be relieved by An early-time check.

00:02:24: this brings crowds into the Cities and can also generate A new audience Keyword, short attention span.

00:02:30: More action more show the time of

00:02:32: day.".

00:02:33: That's what came to mind yesterday.

00:02:35: Well that is definitely something we should discuss... ...that is a product which would be great for marketing.

00:02:43: I think it puts marketing itself quite far ahead because we want and this my goal make our sport bigger.

00:02:52: On the other hand, this stage yesterday also sparked controversial discussions.

00:02:59: I watched The Rays together with Peter Sagan in our bus.

00:03:04: Peter Sagan, our former rider three-time world champion.

00:03:08: He says ah it's way too much!

00:03:11: It is well...it is far to hard to write the twenty first stage with this intensity.

00:03:18: again.

00:03:18: he misses the classic entry into Paris where it is celebrated Where The Race Is Really No Longer The Main Focus.

00:03:27: There are or there were in the past always some sprints.

00:03:30: We also won two in twenty-twenty three with Joey Mears, but that cannot be compared to the stage that took place yesterday.

00:03:38: Well they're different opinions But ultimately I think you have to give the fans a big say because They are after all our customers and from a fan's perspective i fully understand That day celebrated The race Yesterday.

00:03:55: I didn't necessarily mean the final stage in my idea, but rather that instead of those flat stages we always see during the tour one could incorporate such elements into major cities.

00:04:08: Absolutely!

00:04:08: Would it be a format like World Championship style?

00:04:12: The cycling world championships take place on circuits And that would certainly be a format to consider in order to replace the boring flat stages where we couldn't find any attackers or found few attackers.

00:04:29: In this year's Tour de France, you don't have to replace every flat stage but perhaps one of two.

00:04:36: Right, now from the organisational side to the sporting side.

00:04:40: Let's get to yesterdays stage.

00:04:42: You were seen being very active at start.

00:04:44: Remco actually tried it on the Montmartre.

00:04:47: Was he unable do more in end or did you consciously take some risks out?

00:04:52: No we threw everything that was left into the tank for a second ascent of the montmartre climb and the race went over three times.

00:05:03: We calculated that we could already force a preliminary decision on the second ascent, but it didn't work.

00:05:14: The team was really pushed in preparing for this attack and ultimately exhausted.

00:05:20: On the third climb, the decisive one in hindsight – the team and Remko himself were no longer struggling to follow the decisive attacks

00:05:33: Exactly, but I don't think that dampened the mood at The Closing Ceremony.

00:05:38: How was it?

00:05:39: how is the finale for you getting off of your bike to celebrate?

00:05:46: Personally i find the first gathering all employees and also partners and friends on the team bus directly after this stage That's most emotional moment and the most beautiful one.

00:06:05: And here there was wine, champagne, beer... Here were basic pizzas.

00:06:13: That is for me personally The most beautiful moment.

00:06:17: Later, we were at our event location up on Montmartre.

00:06:22: that went down until late into the night and some drank a lot.

00:06:27: Some drank less.

00:06:28: like me I went home relatively early.

00:06:31: it was a real party with four hundred guests.

00:06:35: You don't even know who to talk to anymore.

00:06:37: It was all just overflowing but the racers enjoyed it And primarily its about the races Who

00:06:44: hopefully had a lovely evening.

00:06:47: So before we go into detail, what is your overall conclusion on the twenty-twenty six Tour de France?

00:06:55: Yes.

00:06:56: Well I started in twenty fourteen with seventh place here and they over all standings.

00:07:01: We were fifth twice with Wilco Kelderman an Alexander Vlasov .We where fourth year with Emmanuel Buchmann ,we were third with Florian Lipowitz And now second with Remko Evenepole.

00:07:13: My goal my personal goal remains clear.

00:07:16: I also want to win the Tour de France at some point, yes it does not get much better than second place.

00:07:22: We saw a very outstanding Tadeh Pogacar this year For me in this constellation unbeatable!

00:07:32: If we had a Vingegard or Adel Toro in our ranks, if we have the best of the best on our team which was a hypothetical discussion.

00:07:41: But I believe that even with this lineup We could not beat Tadej Pogacar at this year's Tour de France.

00:07:49: and so let say...we are very happy with second place!

00:07:55: I did miss Florian Lipowitz yesterday evening, somehow.

00:07:58: I felt incredibly sorry for him that he wasn't there because my personal opinion was definitely would have been a very strong contender of the podium and perhaps could even be double-podium for Red Bull Börderhansgrohe.

00:08:14: but it is all speculative.

00:08:17: we know what happened with Florian Lippowitz And i hope his comes back stronger.

00:08:23: I wish that for

00:08:35: him.

00:08:53: Either he eventually can't anymore or doesn't want to any more.

00:08:57: If at some point, he is no longer as he is now Remco has definitely positioned himself to be a successor who can win at Tour de France.

00:09:06: We will see.

00:09:07: Remco is definetely two years younger than today.

00:09:11: I think Florian is also younger.

00:09:13: It would nice for us if they were the successors but Isak Del Toro already pushing up from below.

00:09:21: Paul Sixers is also pushing up.

00:09:24: I hope that at some point our rookies who are still racing in the under-twenty three category will join the circle of contenders for future Tour de France winners.

00:09:34: and yes, it definitely remains exciting!

00:09:37: The

00:09:37: exactly third place in the team standings and that is without Florian Lipovitz's result, only the top three results count toward that.

00:09:46: What is the significance of that?

00:09:48: And what does it say about finishing third in the Team Standings Without Florian?

00:09:54: Yes with Florian we would most likely have won the team classification because Jai Hindley also finished fifteenth in general classification.

00:10:03: At the Tour de France, the team classification has a certain significance because The whole Team gets to go To the podium ceremony on the Champs Elysees and so On.

00:10:12: That is something nice.

00:10:14: I have never experienced that in my career as A manager.

00:10:17: i would Have liked to have had that but it Is not exactly a major success either.

00:10:22: Winning the team Classification It's just a small consolation prize.

00:10:26: If I have a choice and am doing well in the general individual classification or perhaps competing for special jersey like mountains, points or young rider classification then i would definitely let team classifications slide.

00:10:40: In all other races except of the Tour de France The Team Classification plays very minor role.

00:10:48: Now Of course A great deal is being said And Great deal has been said about Remco Evenepool and rightly so.

00:10:55: Seven of your riders reached the finish line.

00:10:57: How do you rate the team's overall performance?

00:11:00: Are you fully satisfied or are there points where we had imagined things

00:11:04: better?".

00:11:06: Yes, I think it is going too far to go into the performance details for individual riders now.

00:11:13: Primarily we brought seven men in Paris.

00:11:16: Florian dropped out due a crash so he did not drop-out.

00:11:21: That is quite a big compliment to the riders, but also do their entire performance team because in the Tour de France it's all about nuances.

00:11:32: And if you make small mistakes then backfires and then might get sick... ...and than won't even reach Paris!

00:11:41: I know that our performance team has performed at their peak over last four weeks or three-and-a-half weeks and did many things right And that is ultimately the result of so many of our riders reaching Paris.

00:11:56: Right, let's look ahead as starting with personnel planning first on the departures side who will be leaving you at the end of this season.

00:12:05: what can you officially announce regarding that?

00:12:10: Yes we don't want to go public yet because there is a famous burst August when announced transfers.

00:12:21: We want to stick to this deadline, there will definitely still be talks both with our own riders and the ones we want to sign.

00:12:35: But one thing is certain that most likely four rookies from the under-twenty three team will move up, and that's a number which personally makes me very proud.

00:12:46: Four of our young riders will make their jump to the pros!

00:12:49: And yes an award for this project within the team.

00:12:55: I am happy about it.

00:12:57: Exactly a name I am asked about again and again, I believe you also confirmed that during the tour.

00:13:03: The contract of Primoz Roglic will not be extended.

00:13:06: can you confirm it here once more?

00:13:08: Yes!

00:13:08: That is correct.

00:13:09: well back then i didn't have my radar eyes up because It's already clear that Primozh Will Be Leaving Our Team And That Is Definitely Set.

00:13:21: He'll Have His Farewell At Dave Welter As Well If Im Correctly Informed.

00:13:26: How do you look back on this time with such a big prominent name as Primoz Roglic?

00:13:55: right one or two preparation races in Spain and then hopefully arrive in Monaco, four weeks for the start.

00:14:05: The time with Primoz.

00:14:06: we are very grateful!

00:14:09: There are also some malicious tongues, yes.

00:14:12: Saying that transfer didn't pay off anymore because Primosh was too old.

00:14:17: Primosh won the Vuelta for us a three-week national tour where not many teams can claim to have ever won the Velta.

00:14:24: he won the Criterium du Dauphiné for...for us.

00:14:28: He won the Volta at Catalonia For Us Both races both races Are Also At The World Tour Level.

00:14:36: He secured three major victories for us and I hope that it will not stop at those three.

00:14:42: Perhaps he'll win one or two more now by the end of this season, but i would rate transfer as very positive And it is also normal at some point when you are in the autumn of your career that you might not be quite as sharp anymore and cannot keep up with modern cycling, which is raised very aggressively.

00:15:05: But Primozhi's a champion to me and was a huge add-on for us in their entire

00:15:09: project.".

00:15:11: So he will be captain at the Vuelta?

00:15:13: Is there anything else already?

00:15:16: Names confirmed or is still too early?

00:15:19: It is still too early for that.

00:15:21: We are currently at a training camp in Livigno with the extended squad for the Vuelta and once the training camp is finished, we will actually make a plan as to who will ultimately ride there.

00:15:35: but preparations are underway one day before tour de France.

00:15:40: That means we're currently in Livinio With more than ten riders preparing very seriously for the vuelta.

00:15:50: Let us move on to the rest of this season.

00:15:52: You mentioned the Vuelta as one of their major goals, what are other overall goals for second half?

00:16:00: Yes we still have World Cycling Championships.

00:16:02: Remco definitely wants to defend his time trial title there but he is also among top favourites in the road race.

00:16:10: I would really love it if Florian makes it to the world championships.

00:16:15: Primarily the plan was for him.

00:16:19: The world championships are very important to us, the Fueltas is very important.

00:16:23: But we also still have a World Tour in the Tour of Poland and then Italian Autumn Classics with the tour of Lombardy as the

00:16:30: highlight.".

00:16:32: What has always been close to your heart –and it's still- is the Salus Bruglumula Cycling Night!

00:16:38: Unfortunately It will not take place in twenty twenty six but that certainly isn't the end for this cycling night.

00:16:45: Can you give some brief insights into that?

00:16:49: Yes, I don't even want to know what i'm doing next Friday because that was always the fixed point of the Bruegelmühler cycling night.

00:16:58: And uh...I grew up in Bruegelmühle.

00:17:01: my dad always put a lot of energy into it too and put the field of riders together and invited the cyclists and he also managed to bring Florian Lipowicz to Brueglmühlen last year.

00:17:15: And yes, we cannot raise this year because of construction work on the course.

00:17:21: It is super sad!

00:17:23: We also sought talks with the municipality to see if a temporary bridge could be installed or if we can choose different circuits but it was not easy to find consensus there.

00:17:35: The fact that it's the Bougal Mule Cycling Night will not take place this year, but we already have commitments from Salus the main sponsor that can hold event next year and are all very much looking forward to that.

00:17:50: And hopefully talk about it in more detail in coming years.

00:17:56: So Ralph!

00:17:57: We've done again!

00:17:59: Seventh season of Inside Red Bull Bora Hans Grohe.

00:18:03: First of All many thanks for all listeners.

00:18:08: We set new records again this year, we owe that to all of you out there the support through messages and questions for you.

00:18:17: Every email I received actually started with many thanks to Ralf Denk And yes...we could barely keep up.

00:18:26: Sorry if we couldn't answer or include everyone.

00:18:30: We tried our best but in the end it was simply too much.

00:18:34: So, and now on behalf of all the listeners.

00:18:37: And of course representing the entire OVB online team a very big thank you to you dear Ralph for accompanying us through tour three weeks and explaining cycling and facets this madness every single year.

00:18:56: That is anything but given so from me and everyone who cares about podcast A big thank you.

00:19:05: That is great to hear, a thank-you also goes back to the listeners because the listeners make it great The podcast product I enjoyed and still enjoy.

00:19:17: It's part of my mission to make cycling bigger To explain in detail And it is also for me, I have to say this here.

00:19:28: To some extent a relief because so many media outlets are now listening to the podcast and also quoting from the podcast that i do not have to speak with quite as many during the tour but Ralph Denk only speaks in The OVB Podcasts!

00:19:45: Uh...and That Is Actually A Bit Of A Relief For Me Too.

00:19:48: It Is An Award For Their Project.

00:19:52: I

00:19:54: have nothing to add.

00:19:56: I wish you a safe trip back from France, Germany.

00:19:59: Thanks again and all the best for the rest of this season.

00:20:04: And yes one last time i send my best regards to france.

00:20:10: Best regards Back To Rosenheim.

00:20:13: That was the latest edition of Inside Red Bull Bora Hans-Kohé, The podcast from OVB Online on Tour de France.

00:20:23: You

00:20:23: can find their podcasts in all common podcatches and on the websites of OVBMedia & Iplenmedia.

00:20:31: Thanks for listening!

00:20:32: See you next time.