OFFICIAL | Maxim van Gils signs for Red Bull - BORA - hangrohe: "I felt a special connection with the team"

It had been heavily rumoured and now it has been made official. Both INEOS Grenadiers and Astana Qazaqstan freed up space in their teams recently for a big signing, but the huge battle for Maxim van Gils has one winner: Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe.

The Belgian had said he would announce his new team on Monday and this has now been officialized. Van Gils, winner of the Eschborn-Frankfurt classic this year and one of the most consistent and prominent classics riders in the peloton, has signed a 3-year contract with the German team.

This came off the back of him breaking his contract with Lotto Dstny, months after renewing. Although he most likely will have to pay a millionaire fine, this was likely planned in advance together with agent Alex Carrera (who helped Cian Uijtdebroeks in the same situation last year), and will likely be earning enough to compensate for that situation.

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“I am proud to be of interest to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. I felt a special connection with the team from the very first moment," van Gils said in a press release. "Now I want to work hard with them to achieve big goals. My adventure with the new colors starts tomorrow!”  

BORA, with a reinforced budget, is building from new a strong classics team both for the cobbles and hills. Van Gils is likely to be a leader in the latter, as well as a possible stage hunter or even domestique for the likes of Primoz Roglic in the Grand Tours.

Team manager Ralph Denk was equally pleased with this top signing: “I am grateful that, after Maxim expressed his desire to change teams, his advisor, Stéphane Heulot, and I handled the situation professionally. That's what made the transfer possible. Maxim has delivered top results from spring to fall. It's not by chance that you finish on the podium at Strade and in the Ardennes, especially at such a young age. It shows strength, but also potential. We will continue to develop this with our performance structure.”

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