Primoz Roglic: Bora-hansgrohe announce star signing with promise to ‘leave our mark on the big races’

Bora-hansgrohe have announced that they have signed superstar cyclist Primoz Roglic with a stated promise to “leave our mark on the big races”.

It had been widely rumoured for months that Roglic would leave Jumbo-Visma and make a big switch, and now it has been officially confirmed that he will be riding for Bora-hansgrohe next season.

Ralph Denk, the team manager at Bora, said: “As a cyclist and Team Manager, patience is required. It is not always the first attack that leads to success.

“Eight years ago, Primoz almost joined us as a neo-pro. Now he comes to us as a pro with a long list of victories that very few others have achieved.

“For us, the decisive factor was not what has been achieved, but what lies ahead. Together we want to leave our mark on the big races. Primoz appreciates the strength of our squad and knows the great potential of his future team-mates.

“I am convinced that his personality will inspire the entire team, because he is a leader with the will to win, and is also a team player at the same time. Most of all, however, he really loves what he does and for me, that is the key to success.”

Roglic had enjoyed huge success with Jumbo-Visma in the eight years since joining the Dutch team, winning four Grand Tours.

“I’m looking forward to this step, although changing teams is something like unknown territory for me,” said Roglic in a statement.

“The good memories from our first meeting years ago made the talks easy. But the decisive factor was that the team is highly motivated to work with me and that we have the same ideas.”

Roglic will likely be Bora-hansgrohe’s main rider at next year’s Tour de France, the only Grand Tour missing from his palmares. The German team also boast Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley, Cian Uijtdebroeks and Alexander Vlasov in their ranks.

The news comes amid speculation that Jumbo-Visma are set to merge with Soudal Quick-Step. The two teams are reportedly in discussions about a potential merger as early as next year.