Should Roglic settle for a spot behind Lipowitz and Evenepoel? Red Bull Boss Denk responds to possible exit

Roglic was fifth in the Tour when the Alps began, but that's where it went wrong. In the stage to La Plagne, he lost a lot of time after going all out for the stage win. “When he realized he wasn't the third-best rider in the race, he tried to win a stage, after consulting with the team, ” team boss Ralph Denk said in the podcast Inside Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. “Unfortunately, he failed. I really hoped he would, but in the end, he was in good shape; we have to acknowledge that. He was good, but others were better.”

The Slovenian will turn 36 in October. During the Tour, Roglic appeared relaxed and did not seem fully motivated to perform at his best. What can we expect from the team leader in the future? "Now, after the Tour de France, we will talk to him about his goals and what still motivates him. He has won almost everything except the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France. So we'll come up with a plan," said his German boss.

Lipowitz seems to be taking over from his teammate, who is 11 years his senior, and Remco Evenepoel is now also joining Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. With the Belgian on board, things could suddenly look very different for Roglic, whose contract expires after 2025. But Denk is reluctant to comment on the Slovenian's possible departure, emphasizing: “Primoz has a contract with us.”

Lipowitz emphasized in the first week of the Tour that he was there to support Roglic, but as the race progressed, suspicions were confirmed: the German climber was better than his team leader. A third place and the white jersey were the result. "His third place in the Dauphiné before the Tour was the highlight of his season, but it only got better. He maintained his form all the way to Paris. That was amazing and shows his class."

With the podium place, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe has achieved a long-standing goal. Victory was not (yet) possible, but this was the highest achievable result, says Denk. “It's a new milestone in the history of the team. We've won the Giro and the Vuelta, we've won Paris-Roubaix and become world champions. We've achieved a lot together in our history, but we've never been on the podium in Paris. That was the next milestone.”

The goal has not been achieved with Roglic, who was brought in to win the Tour. “The special thing is that we did it with our rider, someone who signed his first professional contract here,” laughs the German. “The fact that we have developed Florian from an amateur rider to a rider who is on the podium in Paris in the Tour de France is super cool.”