Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will send two former winners and the 2024 runner-up to the Giro d'Italia in their bid to deliver top favourite Primož Roglič to a second GC victory in Italy.
Joining Roglič on the Giro start list in Albania will be 2022 overall winner Jai Hindley, second-place finisher in 2024 Dani Martínez, Slovenia's Jan Tratnik, Gianni Moscon, Nico Denz, Giovanni Aleotti and the breakout start of the 2024 Giro, Giulio Pelizzari.
As the Giro d'Italia winner in 2023 and a four-time Vuelta a España champion, Roglič is perhaps the biggest favourite for this edition of the corsa rosa, and his team know that he is the rider everyone will be trying to beat.
"We know how tough this Giro will be, and we’re also aware that all eyes will be on Primož," chief of sports Rolf Aldag said as the team confirmed the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe line-up.
"That’s why we’re heading to the start in Albania with a strong, well-balanced team. Primož is in great shape, and the group around him is well-rehearsed and gives us real tactical depth.”
As well as Roglič's previous success, Hindley and Martinez bring strong Giro experience and results to the team, both Giro leaders in the past – Hindley the winner in 2022, whilst Martínez finished second last year, beaten only by the imperious Tadej Pogačar.
The team have been clear all year that Roglič will be the leader, but the presence of Hindley and Martínez will also give Red Bull options, should any misfortune befall the Slovenian, but also offers them strength in numbers.
"I think in general in modern cycling, you go to a lot of races with multiple leaders, and I think that's a better way to play it for teams, to have numbers in the final if you can," Jai Hindley recently told Cyclingnews.
"Primož is the main guy for the Giro. But it's a long race, and you have to always expect the unexpected."
Despite the expectation that Roglič will be a favourite for the overall, and Red Bull's own acceptance of that fact, both parties have been hesitant to state any bullish ambitions or premature predictions of victory.
"Our ambition for the Giro is clear: we want to play a role in the general classification and deliver exciting racing for the fans," was how Aldag put it, with Roglič taking his usual self-deprecating stance.
"I have to save my energy too, you know, I'm old," the 35-year-old told Cyclingnews in a pre-race interview. "I cannot be everywhere any more. I have to manage things well."
Tratnik will be a key part of Roglič's support, not least because the pair have such a long-running friendship and professional relationship, but also as he's a Grand Tour stage winner himself.
And where Aldag and Roglič may have played down the teams ambitions, cautious in the face favourite status, Tratnik has no concerns about the fact that all eyes will be on his team.
"We shouldn't be afraid of anybody," he said. "We've been working every day here for the Giro. And now it's time we pin on the numbers and start racing."
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