Red Bull makes a heavy investment in cyclocross, aiming to find the next Mathieu van der Poel
Cycling
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe wants to expand its talent development strategy and find cycling’s next stars through cyclocross. The German team has launched a new programme initially focused on young talents, aiming to harness the benefits of competing across disciplines and develop riders with stronger technical skills and the ability to race on different terrain.
The project is backed by Red Bull and team manager Ralph Denk, and is coordinated by Sven Vanthourenhout.
The first riders involved include junior world champion Delano Heeren, under-17 European champion Lars Peers, Italian multi-discipline talent Matteo Gualtieri and promising German rider Benjamin Huber.
The organisation plans to build the programme gradually, giving young riders the support of a professional WorldTour structure without setting up a large, independent team for now.
The approach follows a trend already demonstrated by riders such as Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock and Thibau Nys. All have combined different disciplines during their careers, with cyclocross and mountain biking forming part of their development. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe now wants to use that approach to widen its talent identification and development pathways.
Mathieu van der Poel leading a cyclocross race in 2025-2026
Red Bull puts professional resources behind cyclocross
The initiative offers more than competitive opportunities for young riders. The programme provides specialist mechanics, equipment and logistical support, allowing its riders to train and race with the resources of a professional organisation.
Vanthourenhout believes cyclocross plays an important role in rider development and that its potential should be considered from the earliest stages of a career. That was one of the ideas he presented to Ralph Denk when they began shaping the project.
"When I first met Ralph, he asked me about my vision for cycling as a whole," Vanthourenhout told WielerFlits. "I made it clear straight away that I consider cyclocross an extremely important discipline for developing young riders."
The proposal was well received within the organisation. According to the programme manager, securing the additional funding was not a major obstacle, as both Red Bull and the other sponsors were willing to support the initiative.
"To be honest, we didn’t have to push very hard," he said. "Additional budgets had to be allocated, but Red Bull and the other sponsors were immediately willing to support the project."
The organisation plans to expand the programme over the winter by bringing in Gianni Vermeersch and Michiel Mouris, one of the leading prospects in the under-23 category. Their arrival will strengthen the initiative and broaden its presence across different levels of competition.
A new pathway to the WorldTour
The cyclocross project adds to a development strategy that Red Bull and the structure linked to Bora-Hansgrohe have been building for years. In 2023, the two parties launched Red Bull Junior Brothers, an international talent identification programme that uses performance data gathered through platforms such as Strava and Zwift.
The initiative aimed to identify promising riders beyond traditional racing channels and give them the chance to demonstrate their ability. Two of the selected riders were awarded contracts with the team’s development structure.
Since then, the project has continued to expand its routes into professional cycling. The junior team Grenke Auto Eder and the under-23 team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies are two key steps along that path. The Rookies were established in 2025 to narrow the gap between junior racing and the move to the professional ranks.
The first results of that investment have already led to promotions to the WorldTour team. After the 2025 season, Adrien Boichis, Luke Tuckwell and Callum Thornley earned places at WorldTour level for 2026, while four other riders from the junior programme moved up to the under-23 category.
Luke Tuckwell in the yellow jersey after stage 6 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
For the next season, another four Rookies - Lorenzo Finn, Sebastian Putz, Alessio Magagnotti, Davide Donati - are set to promote to the WorldTour team.
Adding cyclocross brings a new dimension to the structure. As well as widening the talent search, it gives riders the chance to hone their technical skills and become more versatile, potentially moving to road racing with experience in other disciplines.
A model similar to Mathieu van der Poel’s?
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe’s initiative inevitably recalls the model of Alpecin-Premier Tech, the structure that brothers Philip and Christoph Roodhooft have spent more than two decades building across different cycling disciplines.
Mathieu van der Poel is the best-known example of that philosophy. The Dutchman has reached the highest level in both cyclocross and road racing, winning some of the biggest events on the international calendar. His career, alongside those of other multi-discipline riders, has strengthened teams’ interest in development programmes that are not limited to road racing.
However, Vanthourenhout rejects the idea that the aim is to reproduce Alpecin-Premier Tech’s model exactly. The programme manager believes that sharing a development philosophy does not necessarily mean the two organisations are following the same path.
"We may share the same philosophy, but that doesn’t mean we’re trying to copy what they’ve achieved," he said.
For now, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe plans to move forward step by step, focusing on giving its young riders the best possible conditions and establishing the project before considering a larger expansion.
The cyclocross initiative completes a development strategy that already links the junior, under-23 and professional levels. The aim is to create more opportunities to discover new talent and prepare riders for the demands of modern cycling, where versatility and experience across different disciplines can prove valuable in reaching the highest level.
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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