"We’re now getting used to Pogacar’s attacks, but I remember when Sagan..." - New Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe signing takes inspiration in former team leader

Haimar Etxeberria’s smile says it all. At 22, the rider from Irún steps up to the World Tour, and does so with Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, one of the most powerful structures in the international peloton. A decisive move in his career that comes after his spell at Kern Pharma, the team that held his contract before the German team bought it out over the past few months. The Spaniard takes inspiration from Peter Sagan, the man who kicked off this team's presence in the top of the sport.

The rider himself makes no secret of his gratitude: “I’d describe Kern Pharma as the team of the moment. They keep producing very good riders… and that’s no coincidence. Juanjo Oroz (team manager, ed.) runs a talent mine. It’s like a father’s support and all the work they do is admirable," the Spaniard said in an interview with AS.

The rise of Etxeberria has been as rapid as it is solid. After joining Finisher, Kern Pharma’s feeder team, in 2024, he stepped up to the first team that same August. The signs already pointed high, and in 2025 came his first professional win at the Vuelta a Castilla y León.

Now, surrounded by figures such as Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel during Red Bull - BORA’s Mallorca training camp, he is taking it all in with amazement: “A huge change is coming, a dream since I was a kid. If you’d told me a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. And six months ago, neither. Let alone that it would be a team like Red Bull - BORA. It’s something exceptional and thrilling.”

The process was not without difficulties. Etxeberria admits last summer was hard to manage, though he chose to stay out of it: “The situation wasn’t easy to handle in summer, but I kept my distance. Once everything was sorted, I felt calmer, because you always have that nagging doubt.”

Along the way, personal support was key: “I’m a very family-oriented rider, close to my people, especially my father and my grandmother, with whom I live, and I enjoy cycling. My work makes me happy, even though I had some tough years when I even thought about quitting because of injuries.”

Within Red Bull - BORA, one of his main supports is Patxi Vila, with whom he even shares training sessions. Etxeberria especially values that close relationship: “There are usually older riders in my group, and Patxi is one of them. The relationship is close and it’s easier to train that way. He was always looking out for me and we’ve known each other forever. He’s one of my main supports in the team.”

Off the bike, the Basque looks for balance and a switch-off, which he sees as essential to his growth: he’s a fan “of car racing, motorsport, going out to dinner with my partner and friends… and disconnecting from the sporting loop that affects any cyclist.” All this heading into a first WorldTour season he approaches with realism and ambition, as “a change, a step out of the comfort zone, for a first year that will be ‘about learning and growth to avoid stagnation’.

On the sporting side, Etxeberria is clear about who he is: “I see myself as an all-rounder with that finishing kick when the line is in sight, which is what brought me wins in the youth ranks.”

Among his role models, one name stands out, closely linked to his new team: Peter Sagan. “He was the rider I always followed closely. We’re now getting used to Pogacar’s attacks, but I remember when Sagan would jump in Paris-Roubaix with 60 kilometers to go and it seemed crazy. We said he wouldn’t make it, and he did. Now, yes, when Pogacar goes we say the race is over, but Sagan was the one who got me hooked, and it was at the current Red Bull - BORA.”

Looking ahead, Haimar Etxeberria does not hide his ambitions, especially in home races. He wants to compete in front of his own in events like “Itzulia and Clásica de San Sebastián” and, of course, to taste victory again: “I wished for it in 2025 and it came true, so it would be nice to repeat it.”