Red Bull on Wednesday unveiled its eight-rider cycling team to debut this week at the Tour de France 2024, marking the energy drink maker's latest expansion of its sports empire.

Earlier this year, Red Bull bought a controlling stake in the German Bora-Hansgrohe cycling team.

The three-week Tour de France starts in Florence, Italy, on Saturday and is expected to be a four-way struggle spearheaded by bitter rivals Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia and Dane Jonas Vingegaard.

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Slovenia's veteran all-rounder Primoz Roglic and Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel also are among the big favorites.

The new Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team will compete in dark-blue jerseys prominently featuring the drink maker's logo and ride "super aero" bikes in white.

They will be led by Roglic, who has won the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España and also claimed his second Critérium du Dauphiné earlier this month.

Roglic reaffirmed his ambitions for the Tour, as wearing the yellow jersey was "the goal, the challenge" toward which everybody on the team was working.

"We have to go for it," the 34-year-old former ski jumper added.

"Red Bull's entry as a new sponsor "is a game changer... for the whole (sport of) cycling", said Roglic, whose new contract is said to be worth 6 million euros ($6.4 million) a year.

The star-packed Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe roster for the world's biggest cycling race also includes Australian former Giro winner Jai Hindley and Russian Aleksandr Vlasov.

Hindley told AFP he was confident the "really well-rounded team" was ready to take on the Tour, with the first day already being 'decisive' -- not in terms of winning the race, but for losing it.

"You get a good idea on what teams are riding well together, who's there in good form, who's not - all on Day 1..

"You prepare for war every day for three weeks. It's really physical, it's mentally draining. It's some of the hardest shit you can do to your body in terms of the sporting world."

Asked about how he will spend the next few days before the race kicks off in Italy, Hindley said he plans to "just eat a lot of food, go to bed early and split his legs a bit."

At Wednesday's launch in the Austrian city of Salzburg, team manager Ralph Denk said Red Bull's arrival in cycling was "really huge."

"We have a clear plan to become the most attractive brand in cycling," said Denk, adding that this would include finding "icon riders" and focusing on the development of young talents.

In 2025, a new under-23 program will seek to bridge the gap between the juniors and the team.

Red Bull has invested heavily in sports to give its brand global exposure - it owns two Formula 1 teams and football clubs, and also has branched out into extreme sports.

How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In The United States 

A live broadcast of the 2024 Tour de France will be available on Peacock for those watching from the United States. 

Peacock is the exclusive home of the event in the United States through 2029, with start-to-finish coverage of every stage, though select stages also will air on NBC.

How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In Canada 

FloBikes will provide a live broadcast for Canadian audiences.

Viewers in Canada will be able to watch all 21 stages of the Tour de France 2024 live on FloBikes and the FloSports app.

FloBikes also will provide updates, highlights and behind-the-scenes coverage throughout the entire event for all Flo subscribers.

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