After four stages, BORA-hansgrohe is still waiting for a stage win at this year’s Tour of Britain. Sports Director Jens Zemke draws an interim conclusion.
Two second places, one third and a total of six top ten finishes – on paper, BORA-hansgrohe’s half-time results at this year’s Tour of Britain are impressive. After the Irishman Sam Bennett had taken third place on the opening stage, it was the Dutchman Danny van Poppel who narrowly missed out on a stage win at the Tour of Britain on the following days with two second places.
Considering the impressive winning streak of the Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij (Team Jumbo-Visma), who has won all four stages of the Tour of Britain so far, Sports Director Jens Zemke still sees potential for improvement: “Of course, Jumbo-Visma is absolutely dominant here. Nevertheless, we had a good chance on three of the four stages so far,” he says.
Zemke is now hoping for a turnaround on the remaining four days: “We have meetings every day and try to change the tactics a bit. We hope that this will translate into a stage win in the coming days and that we can surprise Jumbo-Visma. We'll definitely keep trying,” he explains.
While Zemke predicts another bunch sprint for the fifth and sixth day of the Tour of Britain, he forecasts an open battle for the overall classification for the hilly final weekend. He believes that BORA-hansgrohe has a chance here as well: “With Nils Politt, we have a very strong rider who is in good shape. He will be our captain for the classification,” says Zemke.