TOUR: Rolf, you were head of sport at the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe men's team until the end of the last Tour de France. You started 2026 with the women's team Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto, which came as something of a surprise to the public. How did that come about?
ROLF ALDAG: It all came relatively late. I had spent a few good months in South Africa - and it wasn't as if I absolutely had to jump back into the shark tank now ...
But you didn't let go of professional cycling after leaving Red Bull.
After it became clear that I was quitting there, there was also interest from racing drivers. Kasia (Niewiadoma; editor's note) approached me personally and asked: Is there perhaps a chance that you'll come back? I want to win the tour and maybe you can help again?
What happened next?
I was in talks with Ronny (Canyon-SRAM team boss Lauke; editor's note) anyway. We used to race against each other in six-day races. He later worked for Highroad (successor to Team Telekom and T-Mobile; editor's note) in the women's area and I worked in the men's area. And I was already with Team Canyon-SRAM as sports director in 2020. We never lost touch. Ronny then visited us in South Africa.
You now live mainly in South Africa with your wife Eva.
We talked about his needs, where he sees the team, where he wants to go and where he thinks he still needs a bit of support.
Team boss Ronny Lauke has obviously convinced her to join the team. What exactly is your role?
I don't want to be the figurehead now. The position description is Director of Sports. It's a kind of senior mentorship, as they say in English. No one is to be replaced. There is a young team of sports directors, with Adam Szabo as Head of Sport, as well as Radochla, Davide Arzeni and André Schulze.
What do you do as a mentor?
It's about lending a helping hand and seeing: What can we perhaps do differently or better? Rapid growth brings growing pains. I've learnt a lot about this over the last two years in men's cycling. The basic idea was that I might be able to anticipate and absorb some things. My wife is also part of the whole thing. She studied business administration and maths at the Department of Banking in Mannheim. She does quality management, takes care of processes, etcetera.
Will you also be in the car as sporting director this season or will you just be the helmsman in the background?
I'm already in the car, I have around 100 race days under my belt. Initially in a passive role. As sporting director, I will be responsible for the Ardennes Classics and the Tour. But it's also about structural work: How do we organise a race presentation on the bus? How can we improve communication? How do we do our weekly reports? It's about ensuring that we are all on an equal footing, that we all know how the racers are doing, what they have been training for. And it's about perhaps being a role model by doing things ourselves.
A team that has women's cycling at its centre
The team has a long history dating back to 2002 as Team T-Mobile.
The team used to be part of our Highroad team, which Ronny has continued and which has found its own identity. We thought it was an exciting task to actively support women's cycling: Hey, there are young women who really want to achieve something. With some teams, you ask yourself: are they doing this now because they really wanted to or was it the public pressure, the expectation that women's cycling can no longer be ignored? In the case of Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, the reason for their commitment is not that they want to be politically correct, but that they really want to do something for women's cycling.
Alongside SD Worx-Protime and Human Powered Health, Canyon-SRAM is the only women's World Tour team not linked to a top men's team.
It's not exactly easier for a single women's team. Ronny says he has to focus more on the business side - but you can't forget the sporting side. The big men's teams are pushing into women's cycling. There are synergies for a combined men's and women's team, for example, you simply do a handover on the bus - and that's it.
What is the difference with Canyon-SRAM?
When you're on your own with a women's team, you basically have to be able to do everything yourself. You can't rely on the big structures, sit on the couch and wait for things to happen. That's a positive challenge. The big difference is the resources available; with a large team of men, you have a lot of expertise in a wide variety of areas.
How do you solve the challenge?
In the women's area, people move much closer together. Everyone has to give everyone a helping hand. Then it's a call: Who knows someone, how can we find a solution to this problem? Whereas with the men at World Tour level, it is clear who is responsible. There are chief psychologists, engineers, a data scientist, lots of coaches. With a women's team, you have to try to form external partnerships and bring new people on board. On the one hand, that means a lot more work, but on the other hand it's also very exciting. You have to have a lot of ideas. You decide your own luck and your own future to a certain extent. And you're not guided by huge structures. But we are lucky with Canyon that a) they have expertise there and b) they also do things like wind tunnel tests. Logically, we have to utilise that.
The men's World Tour teams usually comprise 30 riders. For women, it is only about half that number. At Canyon-SRAM there are currently 16 female racers. How difficult is it with so few staff?
If we didn't have a Generation Team, we would probably be better off with 18 or 19 female racers. That's why this mix with the Generation Team (junior team with a Continental licence; editor's note) makes perfect sense for us - especially when someone is injured or ill. We have racers from the Generation Team at almost all races that are not part of the World Tour in order to integrate them early on.
Recently, Erik Zabel has repeatedly been seen at big races with Team Canyon-SRAM. There will be a reunion and collaboration between the old Team Telekom duo of Zabel and Aldag - from Ete and Rolf?
We also see each other from time to time, even privately for a meal and a beer. Of course, this Ronny-Lauke-Ete-and-Rolf faction mustn't become personal fun. We have a job to do. But of course it's more pleasant to work with people who are close to you personally and who like each other. That's why I'm looking forward to it. Working hands are always needed in a single women's team. Ete will certainly be seen in various roles, where outsiders will ask: Is this the job of a representative of the sponsor? Is he now a chauffeur or sports director? But you will also see me unloading the bikes or driving the cars to the petrol station
Which races do you actually focus on in particular?
For us, the outstanding events are clearly the Tour de France and the cycling monuments. So, Flanders, Roubaix, Liège and San Remo. We want to shine there, but we also have huge competition. In women's cycling, the level is rising and professionalism is being pushed from all sides. That doesn't make it easy.
Niewiadoma wants to win the Tour de France again
But the focus is on the goal of repeating team captain Kasia Niewiadoma's Tour victory from 2024?
The ambition is certainly that we would like to be at the top of the podium again. But of course there are scenarios where you have to be satisfied with third place.
Is there currently no way around Pauline Ferrand-Prevot in the Tour de France Femmes - or is she something like the female Pogacar after her superior performance last year?
The dominance in last year's tour was already comparable, Pauline was as dominant as Tadej. But it's really difficult to assess this year because we just don't really know yet whether she can manage the stability. But I thought her last season was extremely impressive because she won the combination of Roubaix and the Tour. Really chapeau!
What goals are you aiming for with the individual female racers?
For the Grand Tours (the long and mountainous stage races Tour, Giro and Vuelta; editor's note) we are well positioned with Neve (Bradbury), Antonia (Niedermaier) and Kasia. Basically, all three can finish on the podium. If you look at the highlights of the season, you can say that the three of them are responsible for results in the Ardennes Classics and in the Tour, Giro and Vuelta, with distributed leader roles.
What else does the squad have to offer?
We have Chiara Consonni for the sprints. And for the time trials we have Zoe Backstedt. She's still young. But it's not completely crazy to say that she'll be an Olympic time trial champion in Los Angeles. And we are convinced that she will win Roubaix at some point in her career.
Antonia Niedermaier - Woman without limits?
What specific goals and potential do you see for Antonia Niedermahere?
Toni will concentrate on the Giro and Tour this season. She's still a bit of a rough diamond. But we have to stop saying that she's not a cyclist, but a ski mountaineer. She started cycling at an early age. She's technically good and has brutal potential. And she is simply a young, very ambitious woman. So she will definitely make it onto the podium in a Grand Tour. You always need a bit of luck to win and of course you depend on your opponents. She can time trial, she can ride uphill very well. I don't see any major limits - except that she will struggle to win a bunch sprint.
We are currently reading the headlines about an economic crisis and job cuts at Canyon, the bike manufacturer that is the main sponsor of your team. What impact is this having on the team's work?
None at all. There is a very clear commitment from both sides. Personally, I would hope that we on the team side realise once again how much effort it takes to support a women's team as a name sponsor and how many bikes you have to sell to do so. And in Roman Arnold (company founder and CEO; editor's note) there is someone personally behind it with his name - we as a team should show gratitude and also have a great desire to justify it, to repay it and to help make the whole thing shine and glow again.
Finally, let's take a look back: Can you explain how, from your point of view, you ended up at Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe?
From my point of view, it was like this: we won the Giro, we won the Vuelta, we were third in the Tour. That was all we could do. I don't believe that you can beat Pogacar at the moment. It's been a super intense year for all of us since Red Bull joined. I was also personally at the limit.
Their sudden departure was surprising in that they had sparked a new enthusiasm for cycling in Germany with Florian Lipowitz's third place overall at the Tour ...
I was also personally delighted with Lipo! Lipowitz's path was a super exciting, super interesting one. Dan Lorang (the team's long-time head coach; editor's note) believed in him and made a commitment early on - which Lipo then confirmed. Now that chapter is closed. After this tour, which I saw as a success, it was good to say we're drawing a line under it! And then others will carry on. That's why I have no regrets.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
