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

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.
claps 3visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026 - Many Europeans say that Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia are one of the most beautiful countries in Europe known for their stunning landscapes because of the Alp mountains, green forests, clean rivers and lakes and national parks.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment










