Bora-Hansgrohe aim for integration and victory as Primož Roglič makes his team debut at Paris-Nice

Primož Roglič makes his long-awaited debut for Bora-Hansgrohe on Sunday with stage 1 of Paris-Nice acting as the first stepping stone towards a Tour de France challenge this summer.

Roglič made the switch from Jumbo-Visma to Bora-Hansgrohe over the winter but has used the last few months to train alongside his new squad. After a recent stint at altitude, he’s returned to sea level and will target the overall at Paris-Nice - a race he won back in 2022.

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Bora-Hansgrohe will not underestimate the opposition with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) also on the startline. The German team will however look to integrate their star rider, as well as target results.

“It’s going to be the first race with Primož for our team, so one very important thing will be the integration of him into the team as part of a racing situation,” sports director Rolf Aldag told GCN ahead of the race.

“We had some really good camps together and a lot of work has been done in terms of our preparation, twice at camps in Mallorca and then at altitude. Now it’s time to show that with our numbers on our jerseys. That’s a big goal for us, to take on the race, and understand each other as riders and management.”

The eight-day stage race will provide Roglič with a stern test of his early season credentials but the veteran is one of the most successful weeklong stage races in the men’s WorldTour and will have the complete support of his new squad. The team time trial on stage 3 in Auxerre, will be key to any form of GC challenge, according to Aldag.

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“Then from a results side, Paris-Nice is one of the first highlights of the season and is super important for everyone,” the German said.

“It’s a very prestigious race to perform in so we aim for the best possible result, with Primož is trying to aim for victory. We realise that there’s super strong competition here that we shouldn’t underestimate, and some critical stages that start with the team time trial is super important for the GC as we don’t actually believe that it’s going to be super big time gaps. Then stage 4 is technical. Stages 5 and 6 are more for the sprinters, and then the big showdowns on stages 7 and 8. So we think it’s going to be more about seconds than minutes. We’ll try to be ready and go for it. It’s a new chapter for Primož and Bora-Hansgrohe. We’re all positive for the situation.”

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