At the press conference during the training camp in Gandía, Spain, the focus was once again on super sprinter Peter Sagan. The double world champion has set himself big goals for 2017: he wants to ride to the first victories for the newly formed team at the Tour Down Under in January. Sagan will also serve as a mentor for the young sprinters. Here, the team is relying above all on the German U23 champion Pascal Ackermann, who cut a fine figure in the new jersey.
The highlights of the season for the tour group around Rafal Majka, returnee Leopold König and Emmanuel Buchmann are still a little further away. Leader Majka, who came from the Contador team Tinkoff, has set himself the goal of podium finishes at the Tour and Vuelta. Buchmann, who impressed in 2016 with a strong 21st place overall at the Tour de France, should learn from the established tour riders Majka and König.
A new era has begun for Bora-hansgrohe with the new additions, especially of course with the signing of Peter Sagan: "Everything has become bigger, but at the same time much more professional in many areas," says Buchmann. The German team has become more international - and much more prominent than last year.
