Red Bull began to sponsor the 'Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe' team and alongside it came a huge financial boost. First to sign Primoz Roglic, but this winter the team prioritized the classics riders and in what way. The German team has a completely new and talented classics block and is looking to challenge Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert this spring.
"We have invested in what we believe are the stars of the future in one-day work. Also, the one-day events are now within reach, and we want to win despite the big competition," Rolf Aldag said in a press conference, as reported by In de Leiderstrui. "Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert... We want to start attacking them too".
We could even go as far as saying that BORA was the team with the best transfers' season. They have signed promising Italian climber Giulio Pellizzari and his compatriot Gianni Moscon who will be a valuable experienced domestique; the trio of Jan Tratnik, Tim and Mick van Dijke from the Visma team; Maxim van Gils, Laurence Pithie, Oier Lazkano and Finn Fisher-Black. Every single transfer is a high-level one, and the team has signed leaders from other teams, simultaneously weakening them. Now they look to put these pieces together to attack the biggest stars of the classics.
"We want to be attractive as a team; you can't do that if you only aim for stage races. In the classics, there is no sitting around waiting; you have to make a decision every second. It is a big, unpredictable drama, and we want to be part of that," Aldag continues. "With our new riders, we don't have today's superstars, but we can train them to be important players. We want to attack Van Aert and Van der Poel, and we can do that with Laurence Pithie, Oier Lazkano, and Maxim Van Gils. I feel the fierceness in this group, so we can't wait to take up the challenge."
"It is unrealistic to pronounce now that we will defeat Mathieu and Wout on the Kwaremont. If you want to beat them, we think there is a way. Anticipate, so you have several guys in the final. That's what we are going for because there are many possibilities. We must create our luck and not rely on our talent and experience. You have to force something and make the race interesting. The guys want to win a classic in 2025, so the motivation is already there."
💥 A fresh look for 2025! 💥
— Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe (@RBH_ProCycling) December 13, 2024
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is excited to ride from head to toe with Specialized 👊🏼
Check it out here 👉🏼 https://t.co/ay8PgtcRIE pic.twitter.com/dPp41krjdK