BORA – hansgrohe and the Giro d’Italia: A story of many firsts
The Giro d’Italia and BORA – hansgrohe have a very special history. It’s a story of many firsts: Premiere #1The Giro d’Italia was the first Grand Tour in the team’s history. In 2012, the organiser’s decision was questioned by many, but in retrospect it was trend-setting and the beginning of a unique success story. On May 5th, the team entered uncharted territory: the start of a Grand Tour. This date and the number 5 characterise our Giro history.©RothFoto Premiere #2Five years later, we return to the Giro. With the new name BORA – hansgrohe, we came back to Italy in 2017. And it was quite a ritorno furioso! Lukas Pöstlberger rode to a stage victory on the very first stage of the 2017 Giro d’Italia. Once again, the Giro left its mark on our team history: The first Grand Tour stage win under our new name, on the very first Grand Tour race day under our new name. On the 100th Giro – and of all days, it was this day again: May 5th, just like our Grand Tour debut five years before!©RothFoto More than 30 further stage victories in the Grand Tours followed for BORA – hansgrohe; a dozen of them in the Giro alone. Sam Bennett, Pascal Ackermann, Cesare Benedetti, Peter Sagan, Lennard Kämna, Jai Hindley and Nico Denz also rode to wins in the BORA – hansgrohe jersey at the Giro. Premiere #3The dramaturgy of May 5th already had two highlights, with our debut and stage win. But this day shows that all good things indeed do come in threes. Because with the 2017 stage win, the team also took the first Grand Tour leader’s jersey in its history. Benvenuto, maglia rosa!©RothFoto Premiere #4These are rare moments. They are for eternity and that is exactly what makes the famous amore infinito that the Giro stands for. Once again, a well-known number plays a leading role in our maglia rosa story: once more, there are five years between two premieres. At the Giro d’Italia 2022, it was five years ago that the pink jersey bore the imprint of our two naming partners BORA and hansgrohe. It’s time for a comeback! Jai Hindley took the lead in the 2022 Giro d’Italia on the climb to Marmolada and never relinquished it until the final day. There were scenes of boundless jubilation in Verona as BORA – hansgrohe won a Grand Tour for the first time!©SprintCycling Premiere #5The next milestone followed on Sunday. 22 Grand Tours were contested under the name BORA – hansgrohe. In addition to 32 stage victories, the team’s GC results are also impressive: One victory, three top 5 and nine further top 10 results form part of its palmarès. But what is missing? A Grand Tour podium on the 2nd or 3rd step! At the 2019 Tour de France, only 25 seconds separated the team from the podium. But how could it be otherwise, it took five more years, until the Giro d’Italia, to reach this milestone.©SprintCycling Dani Martínez finished the 2024 Giro d’Italia in an outstanding second place. The 28-year-old Colombian thereby secured the biggest success of his career to date, immediately after joining BORA – hansgrohe. And after Jai’s victory in 2022, Dani delivered the next highlight in the history of BORA – hansgrohe, by bringing home the team’s first Grand Tour podium. First Grand Tour, first Grand Tour stage win under a new name, first Grand Tour leader’s jersey, first overall Grand Tour victory, first Grand Tour podium: BORA – hansgrohe writes its team history at the Giro d’Italia. It’s simply amore infinito.
