Even before the final stage of the 106th Giro d’Italia, team boss Ralph Denk sees the overall ranking experiment with Lennard Kämna as a success.
“I would say that it worked. Being in the top ten on such a big tour has a certain value and not so many Germans did it before him,” said the owner of the Bora-hansgrohe racing team on Deutschlandfunk .
Kämna is ninth before the start of the final stage to Rome on Sunday. Traditionally, nothing should change in the last few kilometers.
So far, only seven German professional cyclists have completed the Giro in the top ten, most recently Emanuel Buchmann finishing seventh last year.
In-depth analysis planned
For future planning with Kämna, Denk wants to analyze more deeply in the coming weeks. “Is that what he wants and is that what we want? Or do we want to see a more aggressive Kämna again, which is even more in line with his nature?” asked the 49-year-old.
Last year, Kämna focused on breakaway attempts. The 26-year-old had won the mountain finish on Mount Etna.
At this year’s Giro, this offensive driving style was not possible because captain Alexander Wlasow had to give up due to illness. As a result, the team “missed tactical variants” and “all the pressure was on Lennard”.