WorldTour
Nico Denz: When opportunity came calling
Three Giro stage wins, two in just three days. But Nico Denz’s four years with the team were about more than victories, from his work for others to his unmistakable presence as DJ Denz.
Anyone who has spent time on our team bus will be familiar with Nico Denz's taste in music. Better known as DJ Denz when he's in charge of the playlist, his enthusiasm for German Schlager has become something of a trademark. Never one to shy away from putting on a song to lighten the mood, Nico has made sure that life on the road has always had its own soundtrack.
He arrived at BORA - hansgrohe in 2023, already bringing years of WorldTour experience and quickly finding his place in the team. Within months, he would deliver two of the most memorable victories of his career.
He was not the original choice for the breakaway on stage 12 of the 2023 Giro d'Italia. A change of plan gave him the green light, and he joined a group of around 30 riders, initially expecting to help teammate Patrick Konrad towards a possible stage victory. But the breakaway fractured, and Nico found himself in a small move that eventually became three on the Colle Braida. He survived the climb, then attacked on a short rise with 12 kilometres remaining. The move was brought back, but his finishing speed proved decisive. In Rivoli, he outsprinted his two breakaway companions to claim his first Grand Tour stage victory.
Nico celebrates on the line on Stage 12 of the 2023 Giro
© Getty Images
Two days later, he did it again.
On a wet, demanding stage to Cassano Magnago, Nico joined another breakaway. Three riders appeared to have the victory secured, but a furious chase brought them back within the final kilometre. Nico followed an acceleration before launching his sprint, holding off Derek Gee by just half a wheel. He almost celebrated too early, but the result was beyond doubt. Two Giro stage victories in three days, after years of professional racing in which opportunities to ride for himself had been few and far between.
Even Nico struggled to comprehend it. Having arrived in Italy to work for the team's general classification ambitions, he found himself with two of the biggest victories of his career in the space of 48 hours.
Such moments were the exception to the work that occupied most of Nico's racing calendar. He is a rider who understands the demands of supporting a leader, from long hours controlling the peloton to the nervous work of keeping a general classification contender out of trouble. His experience and willingness to take responsibility made him a valuable presence during the team's Grand Tour campaigns. As teammate Jan Tratnik would later remark, "You can trust him no matter what."
A second Giro win! Nico takes Stage 14 of the 2023 Giro
© Getty Images
The 2025 Giro would provide another demonstration of that commitment, before offering Nico an unexpected opportunity of his own.
The team's campaign had been built around the ambition of winning the overall classification with Primož Roglič. Nico had committed himself completely to that objective, spending weeks at altitude and months away from home in preparation.
Then came the withdrawals of Jai Hindley and Roglič. With the team's original ambition gone, the disappointment was considerable. But rather than allow the race to slip away, the focus shifted to what could still be achieved. Sports director Christian Pömer suggested stage 18, and Nico immediately recognised his opportunity.
In a breakaway that had become increasingly disorganised, he noticed riders hesitating and skipping turns. When a small gap opened with around 19 kilometres remaining, he committed himself. If the riders behind failed to respond immediately, he reasoned, they might begin looking at one another. It was a calculated gamble, and it worked. Nico rode alone to the finish in Cesano Maderno, more than a minute clear of his pursuers.
His third Giro stage victory carried significance far beyond the day's result. It was the 300th victory in the team's history, a milestone encompassing years of development and success. Across those hundreds of victories were the names of celebrated leaders, sprinters and specialists. This particular landmark belonged to a rider whose contribution so often lay outside the results sheets.
Nico himself spoke of how proud he was that a domestique like him could deliver such a milestone. It was also a reminder of the team's ability to find new ambitions when the original plan had fallen away. After all the preparation devoted to winning the Giro, the victory brought a measure of reward to a campaign that had demanded so much.
The emotion of the occasion was unmistakable. In his post-race interview, he fought back tears as he described the sacrifices behind the team's Giro campaign, including three months away from home without seeing his wife and children. The collapse of the original objective had felt like the loss of a shared dream. This victory had given those weeks of preparation a different meaning.
There was another remarkable coincidence. The stage fell on Father's Day in Germany, just as his first Giro victory had two years earlier. Through the emotion, Nico ended his interview with a message to his father: "Alles Gute zum Vatertag, Papa!"
Nico Denz celebrating with team soigneur Bram after winning Giro Stage 18
© Maximilian Fries / Red Bull Content Pool
Family has always occupied an important place in Nico's life. At home in the Black Forest with his wife and three children, he has spoken openly about the challenge of balancing family life with the demands of professional cycling. And they have shared in the special moments of his career, including when his children accompanied him onto the stage at a Tour de France team presentation this year.
In 2026, his final season in our colours, Nico continued in the role he knew so well, supporting Jai Hindley's podium finish at the Giro before returning to the Tour de France. A bronze medal at the German road championships was another reminder of his own competitive ability.
Across four seasons, Nico contributed to the ambitions of the team through countless kilometres of work for others, while claiming some very memorable victories of his own. His three Giro stages will remain among the defining memories of those years, but his contribution extended well beyond the days on which he stood on the top step of the podium.
Thank you, Nico, for the work, the victories and the soundtrack. The team bus won't sound quite the same without DJ Denz.
Nico wins Stage 18 of the Giro in 2025
© Getty Images
Nico in the company of team staff before the final stage of the 2026 Giro
© Twila Federica Muzzi / Red Bull Content Pool
Nico Denz and Ben Zwiehoff on the second rest day of the 2026 Giro
© Twila Federica Muzzi / Red Bull Content Pool
Nico Denz celebrating with team soigneur Bram after winning Giro Stage 18
© Maximilian Fries / Red Bull Content Pool
