“To beat Van der Poel or Pogacar we’ll need to be creative” – Red Bull see early Spring Classics progress after difficult 2025

A year ago, the Spring Classics exposed a problem inside Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. Despite strengthening the roster with riders suited to the cobbled races, the German squad completed the entire campaign without a single podium. Twelve months later, the tone around the team is noticeably different.

Opening Weekend delivered both tangible results and a sense that the internal reset over the winter is beginning to show on the road. A second place from Tim van Dijke at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was followed days later by Jordi Meeus’ victory at Le Samyn, leaving Red Bull with the most UCI points of any team across the weekend.

Yet within the team, there is little sense that the work is finished. Chief of Sports Zak Dempster believes the performances are encouraging, but insists the real challenge still lies ahead.

“To beat Mathieu van der Poel or Tadej Pogacar, we’ll need to be creative,” Dempster admitted when reflecting on the start of the Classics season.

For Dempster, the most important change since last year has not been tactical but cultural. Discussions with the Classics group began as early as October, with riders and staff openly examining why the previous spring had fallen short.

“All the riders in our Classics group showed great self-reflection, which allowed us to improve in a targeted way,” he explained. “Not only the riders, but the staff were also willing to have a positive influence.”

The conversations soon moved beyond performance analysis and into something more fundamental.

“Mentality is the most important thing,” Dempster said. “In December, we had the first conversations about how we want to be seen as a group. It’s great to already see that collective spirit during races, and it gives us a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the spring.”

The first evidence of that shift came quickly at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where Van Dijke sprinted to second place behind Van der Poel. Just as significant as the podium was the broader depth on display, with multiple Red Bull riders active near the front during the decisive phases.

For a team that struggled to influence races consistently in 2025, that visibility mattered.

Dempster pointed to the numbers as well as the feeling inside the group. “The fact that we finished Omloop with three riders in the top fifteen shows we’re on the right path,” he said.

Another winter change was the arrival of experienced Classics specialist Gianni Vermeersch, whose race craft quickly became visible in the early races.

“If Gianni needs to be somewhere, he’s always there,” Dempster said. “And Jarrad Drizners was constantly at the front during Omloop. Those two might not have achieved a result themselves, but they played a very important role.”

For the Australian, those contributions illustrate why the team is focusing less on individual heroics and more on collective control. “You are stronger as a collective than alone,” he said.

The shift is partly a response to a remark from Laurence Pithie last season that stuck with Dempster long after the Classics ended. “Last year Laurence said we were just a group of riders wearing the same jersey, but not a team,” he recalled. “That comment really stayed with me.”

Opening Weekend did not unfold perfectly. At Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Meeus was unable to contest the sprint properly after a disrupted preparation and ultimately finished outside the decisive fight.

Still, Dempster sees the reaction within the squad as another sign of progress.

“Our riders now evaluate things more honestly,” he said. “That allows us to improve in a much more targeted way. And then you see that we win just two days later.”

Even with early signs of improvement, the hierarchy of the Classics remains clear. Riders like Van der Poel and Pogacar still represent the benchmark for the biggest races.

Red Bull’s task now is not simply to ride stronger, but to race smarter. “Not everything was perfect,” Dempster admitted. “But we’re on the right path.”