BORA-hansgrohe explains non-selection of Buchmann: “Strategy completely shaken up”

There seems to be internal chaos within BORA-hansgrohe. Emanuel Buchmann is not in the selection for the upcoming Giro d’Italia and this has hit the German climber hard. Buchmann wrote about his frustrations on social media. But why won’t the climber be there in Italy?

“Our strategy for the Giro d’Italia has been completely shaken up during the last four weeks,” BORA-hansgrohe told the German-speaking branch of Eurosport. “A month ago the plan was to travel with Daniel Felipe Martínez and Lennard Kämna as leaders. The rest of the team was purely focused on supporting them in the mountains.”

However, Kämna was involved in a serious training accident in Tenerife on April 3 and is still in hospital. “After Lennard’s serious accident, we were forced to adjust our strategy. We now only have one leader for the classification (with Martínez, ed.) and some versatile riders as backup. These guys look for opportunities on the hilly stages.”

Buchmann came up with a completely different story on Monday. “I cannot describe my disappointment and frustration regarding my non-selection for the Giro d’Italia. I have been preparing for months and making plans for the Giro. BORA-hansgrohe even promised me that I would be co-leader of the rankings. The form was there and the training went well,” he wrote on his Instagram page.

From Giro to Eschborn-Frankfurt
The number four of the 2019 Tour de France will therefore not appear at the start of the first big tour of the season, but will make an appearance tomorrow in Eschborn-Frankfurt. Maximilian Schachmann (who will go to the Giro), Marco Haller, Sergio Higuita, Roger Adrìa, Cesare Benedetti and Frederik Wandahl are also part of the selection for this German one-day race.