After seven years with the BMC Racing team, it seemed like Marcus Burghardt had found a happy home – one that he might just stay with until he retired. However, a phone call from a friend made him think about starting afresh.
With nothing holding him back, Burghardt didn't have to think twice about taking up the opportunity to join Bora-Hansgrohe in their first season at the WorldTour, and working for a friend adds an extra dimension to this new adventure.
"Ralph Denk is my neighbour, and we are also friends. I was out of contract with BMC, so he got in touch and we spoke about whether I might think about joining Bora-Hansgrohe," Burghardt explained to Cyclingnews after taking part in a motorsport event organised by the team's car supplier Auto Eder. "I said yes. If it's coming to the WorldTour with a lot of young talent, then it might be nice to join the team and help the team develop quicker.
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"Now, one of my friends is my boss, and I'm working in his company. It's more pressure on me because you want to do extra good."
If that wasn't enough pressure for Burghardt, he would also be slotting into the Classics set-up behind world champion Peter Sagan, having plied his trade for Greg Van Avermaet for the best part of a decade. The spring campaign was of mixed success, with victory at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and second place at Milan-San Remo early on followed by a couple of mechanical problems and a crash that kept him out of contention in the latter part of the spring.
At times, the team was criticised for not being strong enough to support Sagan. However, Burghardt says that the team worked well together and that it was just bad luck that prevented them from having a much stronger Classics campaign. "I think the Classics we did quite well. We did a good job in Flanders, and we were in the game in Gent-Wevelgem," he said.
"I went through everything with German cycling"
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