Upcoming Belgian star Thibaut Van Damme joins top junior development, Team Auto Eder, the feeder for BORA-hansgrohe

Thibaut Van Damme was voted the best Belgian newcomer of the year during the Flandrien Gala. To add to this, his new team was also revealed during the award ceremony. The only 16-year-old rider makes the switch to the training team of a certain WorldTeam.

This concerns Auto Eder, the junior team of BORA-hansgrohe and one of the top junior structures for years running. Presenter Karl Vannieuwkerke, known from the TV program Vive le Vélo on Sporza, congratulated Van Damme on the switch to the German talent team. The youngster responded with a laugh and wit: "That was actually not allowed to be in the media."

Van Damme currently calls himself an all-rounder. "Time trial is my best point, I can also climb reasonably well," he said, according to Het Nieuwsblad. Yet Van Damme wants to improve on this even further. "I have made great strides in riding uphill, which was a disaster last year."

Auto Eder is a team where the likes of Cian Uijtdebroeks, 8th from the last Vuelta, the 2022 Junior World Champion Emil Herzog or silver medallist from Glasgow, Paul Fietzke made the first impression in their junior years.