A striking transfer in the cycling world: the talented Dutchman Max van der Meulen will become a professional with Bahrain Victorious in 2025. In 2024 he will race for the training team, Cycling Team Friuli. Van der Meulen currently rides for the DSM-Firmenich development team where he was under contract through 2024 initially.
"Firstly, I would like to thank Team DSM-Firmenich for the development they have given me so far in my career," Van der Meulen is grateful to his current team. "I am very happy that I have the opportunity to develop myself within Bahrain Victorious in the coming years."
"I look forward to next year at Cycling Team Friuli, where I will take my final steps in my development before realizing a lifelong dream: becoming a professional cyclist for Bahrain Victorious," Van der Meulen said in a press release.
The 19-year-old Dutchman is known as a great talent for stage races. Last year, as a junior, he won several stage races. He also showed a lot of potential as a climber by winning the La Classique des Alpes Juniors with a large margin. Van der Meulen is also not averse to cobblestones. This season he finished sixth in the promising edition of Paris-Roubaix. Another striking result is a fifteenth place among the pros in the rainy Volta Limburg Classic.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
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📣 We are delighted to announce the signing of the promising young Dutch cyclist Max van der Meulen @MaxvanderMeule7 who will ride for our development team @CTFriuli in 2024 before joining us for the 2025 season. #RideAsOne 🔗 bit.ly/3PKPoVR
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