Aussie Focus

Roglic at Bora 'only a positive' for Hindley, says Macka

SBS Cycling's David McKenzie believes that Jai Hindley will benefit from Primoz Roglic's arrival at Bora-Hansgrohe.

Untitled design.png

SBS commentator David McKenzie expects both riders to benefit from the move. Source: Getty.

The four-time Grand Tour winner's move to German side Bora-Hansgrohe after eight seasons with Jumbo-Visma certainly raised some eyebrows when the transfer was confirmed earlier this month.

However, probably none more so than the Australian cycling community at the realisation that two Grand Tour winners would now be racing in the same colours.
LISTEN TO
cc_pod_18102023_ok .mp3 image

Roglič, Hindley, who helps who?

SBS Sport

18/10/202329:50
Christophe Mallet and McKenzie discussed the move on the SBS Cycling Podcast, with Mallet pointing out the potential difficulty of whose leadership to prioritise between 2022 Giro d'Italia winner Hindley and Roglic, a three-time Vuelta a Espana winner and reigning Giro champion.

McKenzie, meanwhile, predicts the move will be a positive one for both riders.

"I think it's actually really good," McKenzie said.

"People say you've got to have an outright leader and in some cases, depending on the personalities, you do need to try and separate them.

"But I think it can be nothing but good, and as Jai said, he's going to learn from Primoz Roglic. With riders like that, and Jai, he's still maturing, I think, as an athlete and he's probably still maturing as a person.

"You keep learning right up until the day you retire in any professional sport. So, I think it can only be positive to have Roglic alongside him."
The move comes after Jumbo-Visma's unprecedented clean sweep of the La Vuelta podium last month, with Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard seemingly happy to settle for second and third place while Sepp Kuss ascended from super-domestique to Grand Tour champion.

However, Bora-Hansgrohe owner and founder Ralph Denk claimed that Roglic was 'not happy' with how leadership duties were handled as the race unfolded, creating further speculation that the Vuelta proceedings contributed to Roglic's departure from Jumbo, in addition to his bid for a maiden Tour de France victory.

McKenzie also believes the move may have been a financial one after the widely-speculated merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-QuickStep was eventually called off.

"I think that's why they let Primoz Roglic go, to free up some space in their budget, to keep their books balanced," McKenzie added.

"He wants one more big crack at it [the Tour], so he had to find an exit."
The SBS commentator also praised Bora's other off-season moves, with Sam Welsford joining compatriot Hindley after making the switch from Team-DSM, as well as Colombian Daniel Martínez who joins from Ineos Grenadiers.

"That's a cool move. They're bolstering their GC stocks, and he [Martinez] comes in line maybe with [Emanuel] Buchmann with what he does; high in the mountains, he'll be there to protect Jai and Roglic," he said.

Share
Watch the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Dakar Rally, World Athletics / ISU Championships (and more) via SBS On Demand – your free live streaming and catch-up service. Read more about Sport
Have a story or comment? Contact Us

Watch the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Dakar Rally, World Athletics / ISU Championships (and more) via SBS On Demand – your free live streaming and catch-up service.
Watch nowOn Demand
Follow SBS Sport
3 min read
Published 19 October 2023 1:23pm
By SBS Sport
Source: SBS


Share this with family and friends