Cycling
Inside Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe’s Giro 2025 team
The Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe team is among this season’s Giro d’Italia favourites, mixing young talent with Grand Tour veterans. This team preview covers the full lineup and each rider’s role.
Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe’s Giro 2025 team was completed on Monday, May 5, with Primož Roglič leading the German outfit for the first time at the Italian Grand Tour. The Slovenian general classification specialist is attempting to win his second Giro and sixth overall Grand Tour. He starts the race in fine form, winning the mountains and points classification en route to the overall at March’s week-long Volta Ciclista a Catalunya stage race.
But Roglič won’t be doing it alone, and will be supported by seven other riders in his quest for the pink jersey. From previous Giro d’Italia winners to future stars, here are the rider roles, lineup, and strategy of the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe Giro 2025 team during the three-week race.
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Cycling team roles explained – what each rider does in a grand tour
In a Grand Tour like the Giro d’Italia, each team has eight riders – but not everyone is riding to win during the 21 stages and three weeks of racing. Instead, riders take on specific roles based on their strengths. Here’s a quick breakdown:
It takes a team to win...
© RCS Sports & Events/Red Bull Content Pool
- GC leader: The rider going for the lowest cumulative time across all stages. Every other team member rides in service of this goal. Example: Primož Roglič is Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe’s GC leader in 2025.
- Domestique: The GC leader’s support riders, the remainder of a Grand Tour team, will ride to protect a lead in the GC or help their team leader reduce the time deficit in the overall standings. They perform numerous roles during each stage, including shielding the GC leader from the wind and providing an aerodynamic slipstream, protecting his position towards the front of the peloton on the flat, retrieving food, drink and tactics from the team cars, chasing down dangerous attacks on climbs or setting up attacks by holding a high pace. Example: Gianni Moscon is a Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe domestique in 2025.
- Road captain: The director sportif’s voice in the peloton, the road captain is an experienced rider who directs the team’s pre-race strategy in the heat of the action but also makes tactical calls and reacts to incidents on the fly to ensure the GC leader is protected or can capitalise on any opportunities. Example: Jan Tratnik is Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe’s road captain at the 2025 Giro d’Italia.
- Climbing domestique: When a race hits the mountains, a GC leader relies on climbing domestiques – riders who specialise in climbing and won’t wilt when the gradient ramps up. Climbing domestiques perform a number of roles depending on whether the GC leader is protecting the jersey or not. When defending, they will neutralise any attempted attacks by other teams by chasing them down and generally provide a wheel for the GC leader to follow. If on the attack, a climbing domestique can also set a hard pace for the rest of the lead group to follow, with the sole aim of burning through rival teams’ domestiques and leaving GC competitors isolated. Example: Dani Martínez is a Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe climbing domestique.
- Time trial specialist: While the majority of a Grand Tour’s stages are standard road races, there are usually two or three time trials, where riders compete either individually or as a team on a fixed course against the clock. A time trial specialist excels in this sort of racing and is generally able to sustain a high power output in an aerodynamically optimised position. Example: Jan Tratnik is a Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe time trial specialist
- All-rounder: Road cycling is made up of a number of different specialisms and terrain – time trialling, sprinting, climbing, rolling hills, flat – and all-rounders are able to hold their own in most situations. This makes them ideal candidates for GC leader status or incredibly valuable domestiques. Example: Jai Hindley is a Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe all-rounder.
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Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe Giro 2025 team line-up
Primož Roglič
Primož Roglič is already a Giro winner
© RCS Sports & Events/Red Bull Content Pool
Rider role: Team leader
Specialism: General classification
Primož Roglič is the 35-year-old Slovenian who had a successful first year with Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe, winning his fourth and the team’s first-ever La Vuelta a España red jersey, and will be looking to make it two consecutive Grand Tours in a row when he lines up at his fourth Giro d’Italia. He has a previous in pursuit of the pink jersey, claiming the maglia rosa in 2023 by just 14 seconds, and enters the 2025 edition as a clear favourite.
Jai Hindley
Jai Hindley is the team's second Giro d’Italia champion
© RCS Sports & Events/Red Bull Content Pool
Rider role: Domestique/Backup team leader
Specialism: General classification
Jai Hindley is a super domestique rider, expected to protect the team leader deep into a mountainous stage, either closing down attacks or teeing up one for Roglič, and in Jai Hindley, it’s hard to find a better rider for that role in the peloton. The 29-year-old Australian knows what it takes to win the Giro d’Italia – having won the race in 2022 – and will aim to shepherd Roglič every pedal stroke of the way in his GC bid. Should the Slovenian fail to start a stage for any reason, Hindley is also well set to be the backup team leader.
Dani Martínez
Colombian Dani Martínez is the key man for the big mountain stages
© RCS Sports & Events/Red Bull Content Pool
Rider role: Domestique
Specialism: General classification
Dani Martinez is the epicentre of Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe rolling out the big guns for the 108th edition of the Giro d’Italia, with Roglič able to call on last year’s second-place finisher Dani Martínez as a domestique. The Colombian will be a vital lieutenant during the race’s key mountain stages and can set a ferocious pace on the steeper inclines to leave rivals in the red.
Jan Tratnik
Jan Tratnik is the TT powerhouse
© RCS Sports & Events/Red Bull Content Pool
Rider role: Domestique
Specialism: Time triallist
Another 35-year-old Slovenian to make the squad, Tratnik brings a wealth of experience in the form of 10 Grand Tour starts – five at the Giro. His main role will be to shield his compatriot on flat and rolling terrain before letting the climbers take over when the gradient shifts upwards, but as a time trial specialist, Tratnik will also have ambitions during the race’s two individual time trials on stage 2 and stage 10.
Gianni Moscon
Gianni Moscon riding for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
© Tim de Waele/Getty Images
Rider role: Domestique
Specialism: All-rounder
Gianni Moscon is the Italian one-day specialist who is making his Grand Tour debut for Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe and is sure to be a crucial addition to the squad. His Classics credentials could make him a key rider to get into breakaways to provide Roglič with support up the road during any attacks of his own, while he can be expected to target wins on any stage when the general classification contenders call a ceasefire for the day.
Nico Denz
Nico Denz conquers Cuitu Negru at La Vuelta 2024
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
Rider role: Domestique
Specialism: Rouleur
Nico Denz is another Giro expert, the 31-year-old German, lines up for his seventh Italian Grand Tour as a key cog in the pink jersey machine. Denz will perform vital domestique tasks, including shielding Roglič from the wind and retrieving food and drink from team cars, but has shown himself as a breakaway specialist when given the chance, winning two stages in the 2023 Giro d’Italia in such a fashion.
Giovanni Aleotti
Giovanni Aleotti battles a misty climb at La Vuelta 2024
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
Rider role: Domestique
Specialism: General classification
Giovanni Aleotti is the 25-year-old who is making his fifth consecutive Giro d’Italia line-up for Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe and continues his education as a future Grand Tour GC challenger. Expect Aleotti to be part of the group of riders alongside Hindley and Martínez supporting Roglič on the mountain stages.
Giulio Pellizzari
Giulio Pellizzari pre-race at the Volta Catalunya
© Max Fries/Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
Rider role: Domestique
Specialism: Climber
Giulio Pellizzari is a precocious Italian talent exploded on the world stage at last year’s Giro d’Italia and has been fast-tracked into his first Grand Tour for Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe after Matteo Sobrero’s training ride accident ruled him out of the Classics and the first Grand Tour of the year. Pellizzari is another with a bright future as a general classification specialist, but could prove invaluable in the mountains and climbs of the 2025 Giro – he finished second behind Tadej Pogacar in last year’s mountains classification and will be extra motivated by the home support on the roadside.
Ready for the 2025 Giro d'Italia? Check out here, where you can follow alongside the turns and events of this years Giro d'Italia.