“It’s fantastic for me to be able to benefit from the knowledge of experienced pros” - Emil Herzog on establishing himself as a WorldTour rider
Cycling
Having been part of the Auto Eder development team for two years as a junior rider, Emil Herzog was promoted to the BORA-hansgrohe WorldTour team at the start of this season after a year with the Hagens Berman Axeon team in 2023.
At just 19 years old, despite having a very good junior season in 2022 the step up to the top level of professional cycling could have been too much for him, as he struggled to pick up any major results in the U23 ranks.
However, after a solid early season block in Mallorca and Oman, the young German has formed a key part of the BORA-hansgrohe Spring Classics team, as he has ridden almost all of the major races for the team, including the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. He also picked up a standout result of seventh place at Milano-Torino in his best finish of the season so far.
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Ahead of his next race at the Tour of the Alps, Herzog said in an interview with his team that “I’ve just entered the WorldTour and have relatively little experience. That’s why it’s fantastic for me to be able to benefit from the knowledge of experienced pros”.
When asked about what the step up to the WorldTour has been like, Herzog replied “it’s the little details, like how to position oneself in the peloton or how to manage energy across stages, these are aspects that operate very differently among the pros compared to the junior levels”.
On his upcoming race in Italy, he went on to say “the Tour of the Alps is a tough race, with many climbs and technically challenging descents. It’s quite different from the Spring Classics”.
Also speaking to the team ahead of the race, Herzog’s teammate Cesare Benedetti commented on the progress that the youngster has made this season, as he said “Emil is a great talent. He got off to a good start in the WorldTour. If he has recovered from the classics, he will demonstrate his abilities at the Tour of the Alps as well”.
On what it is like to have such a young rider in the team, the Italian-born Polish rider said “I still feel quite young. But during a team training camp, I rode with Emil, and it hit me how quickly time has passed. He could almost be my son”.
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- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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🇮🇹 #TotA Emil Herzog (19) and Cesare Benedetti (36), the youngest and the oldest athlete of #BORAhansgrohe, are competing in this year's Tour of the Alps. We spoke with both riders before the start of the race. ➡️ bora-hansgrohe.com/en/news/tour-o…
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