TJV & SQS merger/funny business ....

[MichaelB]

At 1st, I just thought it was BS and something to stir the pot with, especially since Patty boy is a bit of a stirrer, but is seems like it's really something and it just puzzles me as to the what and why ?

The ONLY thing that makes sense to me is that Soudal are to become the main sponsor of TJV (making it Soudal Visma), and by necessity, it means that in order for Soudal to do that, they have to do a merge rather than swap teams due to existing contracts.

Or have I missed something ?

I can't help postulating that PL stuffed up by pursuing Remco's GT ambitions by reshaping the team around him - yep on his day and in shorter Tours, he's farking brilliant and deserves the support, but the 1 Vuelta against a lower class field isn't representative where his 2023 TdF result just shows that he's not there yet (but he may well get there ????)

I also can't help thinking that the Vuelta that Kuss won was a key reason, along with Jonas being the TdF designate leader for them that helped him to leave.

Mind you, I'd love to see a three way battle between Rog/Pog/Jonas - that'd be stellar !!

[davehirst]

I wonder what happens to j Hindley if roglic moves to bora

[warthog1]

Well he's there apparently.
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-li ... 023-304323
I expect they will target different GTs or Jai will work for him if not. Interested to see anyway.

[MichaelB]

Well he's there apparently.
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-li ... 023-304323
I expect they will target different GTs or Jai will work for him if not. Interested to see anyway.

Reckon he’ll target Giro again and/or Vuelta


And it seems common sense has prevailed and it’s all OFF !!!

[warthog1]

Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk has said that one of his top reasons for signing Primož Roglič for 2024 and beyond is his belief that the Slovenian star continues to be a leading candidate to win the Tour de France.

In what is by far the biggest rider transfer story to date for the 2024 season, Denk confirmed in a lengthy press conference on Friday that Roglič would be leaving Jumbo-Visma to join Bora-Hansgrohe at the end of the year and also provided some details of the backstory of what would have been a most unlikely team switch for 2024 as little as a month ago.

Denk explained that the 2023 Giro d’Italia winner had "not been happy" at Jumbo-Visma's strategy in the final week of the recently completed Vuelta a España, won by Roglič's teammate Sepp Kuss. He also hinted strongly that when combined with Jumbo-Visma's ongoing focus on Jonas Vingegaard for the Tour de France – which Roglič also wants to target– the chance for Bora to make an offer to Roglič suddenly became a viable option. That was despite the 33-year-old having a contract with Jumbo until 2025....

Regarding the Tour de France, Denk said that winning cycling's top race was a personal dream and that signing Roglič represented "the chance to work with one of the biggest contenders."

"We are realistic as well, he’s not the only contender. [To win] we'll need luck, a super-strong team and an outstanding performance from Roglič.

"But it's already a nice feeling for me to be a real contender, and hopefully this will give the whole team, not just the riders an extra push. It's inspiring."

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/denk-b ... nce-goals/

[MichaelB]

…..

Denk explained that the 2023 Giro d’Italia winner had "not been happy" at Jumbo-Visma's strategy in the final week of the recently completed Vuelta a España, won by Roglič's teammate Sepp Kuss. He also hinted strongly that when combined with Jumbo-Visma's ongoing focus on Jonas Vingegaard for the Tour de France – which Roglič also wants to target– the chance for Bora to make an offer to Roglič suddenly became a viable option. That was despite the 33-year-old having a contract with Jumbo until 2025....


"…

Cheers, confirmed my thinking that Rog wasn’t fully happy with the Vuelta outcome. Fair enough

[find_bruce]

I can understand Roglic wanting to be the team #1 for the TdF.

I cannot comprehend on any level why the merger was ever considered a good outcome

[MichaelB]

...

I cannot comprehend on any level why the merger was ever considered a good outcome

Seems from another article/gossip that I read was that it was more driven by the majority Team Owners - Bakala and the TJV main guy.

Meh, good to see that common sense won out, but would have been a crappy time for the staff and riders of both teams !!

[BonnieChampine]

I feel so sad for him.