Bora-Hansgrohe have said “strategy changes” are the reason that Emanuel Buchmann was left out of their Giro d’Italia squad and that he wasn't promised co-leadership after the German national champion lashed out at his non-selection on social media earlier this week.
“I cannot describe my disappointment and frustration be not nominated for the Giro d’Italia this year,” said Buchmann in reaction to the team's squad announcement on Monday.
“All year was planned for the Giro and even Bora-Hansgrohe promised me the Co-Leadership for the GC. The last three weeks at the Teide I wanted to do the last preparation, but 16 days before the start of the Giro I got the call that I won't be in the lineup.”
Sports director Enrico Gasparotto revealed to Sporza that the team were surprised by Buchmann’s statement that he was promised joint leader's status for the first men’s Grand Tour of the season. The Italian said that the decision was simply a tactical change brought about when planned co-leader Lennard Kämna was ruled out after being hit by a driver at team training camp last month.
"I was quite surprised to read that we had promised him co-leadership. That is something new for us. It is not right,” said Gasparotto to Sporza.
"During the first meeting with the riders in November, we discussed that [Dani] Martínez and Kämna would be our two classification men in the Giro.
"I called Buchmann and explained to him that we have adjusted our strategy somewhat due to the failure of Kämna."
With Kämna out due to sustaining numerous injuries in the training incident and being left in intensive care in Tenerife, Bora-Hansgrohe have switched focus to Dani Martínez on GC while the rest of the squad chase stages through sprints and breakaways.
Thankfully, the team released an update today that Kämna, a former Giro and Tour de France stage winner, had left the hospital and will travel to Hamburg today to receive treatment from the team's medical department.
"As a team, we want to go to the Giro with versatile riders who can win from the break,” Gasparotto said. "That was the reason why we brought Jonas Koch into the Giro selection. He can climb and is fast enough to win a sprint from a thinned-out peloton.”
Also snubbed from the Giro side after being originally set to make his debut there was sprinter Sam Welsford. Danny van Poppel will take up the mantle of challenging the flat stages instead with Ryan Mullen as leadout.
“You will have to ask the team the reason. But maybe they just saw that I am currently better than my leaders,” said a slightly surprised Van Poppel to Dutch newspaper BN DeStem.
"After riding with Sam [Bennett] for two years, I now try to focus on what I have to do. The team chooses not to include Sam [Welsford]. Fine. Then it's up to me. And why not? I am a much better rider than three years ago.”
Max Schachmann, Patrick Gamper, Giovanni Aleotti, and Tour de Romandie breakout star Florian Lipowitz make up the rest of the roster alongside Martinez, Koch and the sprint duo.
Buchmann hasn’t yet returned to his previous best career form from 2019 when he won a stage at Itzulia Basque Country and took third at the Critérium du Dauphiné, before finishing fourth overall at the Tour de France.
2024 has been somewhat of a struggle for the German, with spring highlights being results of 17th at the Tour of Oman, 27th at the UAE Tour and 32nd at Itzulia Basque Country. But Gasparotto suggested that even in top form, riders have to understand when a team makes a strategic change.
"In 2018 I was 3rd in the Amstel and 6th in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. My team Bahrain Merida then decided 1 week before the Giro to remove me from the selection,” said the former two-time Amstel Gold Race winner Gasparotto. “I was also disappointed at the time.
"But if a team's strategy changes due to certain things that have happened in recent months, the riders must understand and accept that.”
