Big budget, modest returns: Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe 2025 verdict

2024 saw the major arrival of Primož Roglič to the German team, who had signalled their intent to challenge at the Tour de France. It wasn’t to be, as Roglič abandoned the race before the start of stage 13. However, in true Roglič fashion, the Slovenian bounced back to win a record-equalling fourth Vuelta a España. 

With the emergence of Florian Lipowitz in 2024, it was intriguing to see how far the German could rise in 2025, after finishing 7th in support of Roglič at the Vuelta. With former Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley and the likes of Aleksandr Vlasov and Daniel Martínez, the team were well equipped on the GC front.

The transfer window saw the team bolster their climbing ranks with the talented Giulio Pellizzari and Finn Fisher-Black, but a big emphasis was placed on improving the classics department. 

On paper, the team had transformed in this area with Gianni Moscon, Laurence Pithie, Jan Tratnik, Oier Lazkano, Tim and Mick van Dijke all coming in as well-rounded riders to boost the team in all departments. The late arrival of Maxim Van Gils was a big move considering his performances in 2024.

With one of the strongest teams assembled after finishing 5th in the UCI rankings in 2024 with 24 wins, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe could look to compete on all fronts in 2025.

Wins: 23
UCI Ranking: 6th
The Verdict: 5.5/10

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe achieved 23 victories in 2025, one less than the previous season, which saw them finish 6th in the UCI team rankings. 

Additionally, the team finished on the podium of the Tour de France for the first time, with Florian Lipowitz, before narrowly missing out at the Vuelta, finishing 4th with Jai Hindley, The team overcame the loss of Primož Roglič to finish 6th at the Giro d’Italia with Giulio Pellizzari. There were also stage wins at the Giro and Vuelta, respectively, via Nico Denz and Pellizzari.

Red Bull's best monument position was Daniel Martínez's 7th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which was the only top 10 in a monument this campaign.

Along with the Tour de France, Lipowitz also finished on the podium at Paris-Nice and the Critérium du Dauphiné, whilst there was a WorldTour podium for Matteo Sobrero at the Tour de Pologne.

Roglič also delivered GC success at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya after winning two stages as the team landed 10 WorldTour victories in the season. 

New signing, Maxim Van Gils, won twice in his debut season, including a stage of the Tour of Norway, and finished on the podium at the Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa.

Meanwhile, fast-finishers Sam Welsford, Danny van Poppel and Jordi Meeus each claimed multiple victories, with the latter winning the inaugural Copenhagen Sprint.

All in all, it was not a season of dominance. Despite several highlights - a Tour de France podium, multiple WorldTour victories and emerging talents - Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe’s campaign will still be seen as modest given the team’s substantial budget and resources.

2024 gave us a peek into the talent that is Florian Lipowitz, but 2025 delivered the centre showpiece on the biggest stage.

From his 2nd place finish at Paris-Nice to a 4th at Itzulia Basque Country, the signs were there in the early months of the season that Lipowitz was ready to make a statement. It was some statement he made at the Critérium du Dauphiné, finishing a comfortable third, amongst elite competition. 

Lipowitz’s Dauphiné performance proved to be a prelude to the Tour de France, as he would become the first German rider to finish in the top 3 since Andreas Klöden in 2006.

From the Pyrénées in the second week, where Remco Evenepoel abandoned, it became clear that the battle for 3rd was a two-way fight between Florian Lipowitz and Oscar Onley. 

Whilst Lipowitz had the upper hand over Onley in terms of time, it was very impressive to see a Tour debutant handle the pressure so well, as the German was a target for the British rider to hunt down.

This was evident when Onley managed to take 1:39 over Lipowitz on stage 18 to Courchevel (Col de la Loze), and it would have been easy for the German, a rider not used to this position, to crack completely. 

However, Lipowitz bounced back the following day to finish just ahead of Onley on the stage, before going on to secure a maiden Grand Tour podium finish, illustrating his talent and mental fortitude, something necessary to be a Grand Tour champion, which Lipowitz has all the hallmarks of in the years to come.

Each of the Grand Tours stood out in its own way for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. The team bounced back well from Primož Roglič abandoning the Giro d’Italia in multiple ways. Nico Denz won the third Giro stage of his career after a perfectly executed attack on a breakaway stage. Additionally, Giulio Pellizzari rose to the fore in the Slovenian’s absence to finish 6th overall. 

The Italian climber would also excel at the Vuelta a España to take a stage win and finish 6th once more, with his Australian teammate Jai Hindley narrowly missing out on the final podium to Tom Pidcock.

However, for Florian Lipowitz to stand alongside Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard on the Tour de France podium in Paris was a monumental achievement for the team.

It marks the first ever time Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe finished on the general classification podium at the Tour, and it’s something made even sweeter by the fact that they had been on the verge of this for some time. 

Emanuel Buchmann was just 25 seconds behind Steven Kruijswijk at the end of the 2019 Tour, and since then, Wilco Kelderman in 2021 and Aleksandr Vlasov in 2022 finished 5th, before a crash ruled Primož Roglič out of the podium battle in 2024.

It also marked the first time that the team had two riders place inside the top 10 in GC, with Primož Roglič finishing in 8th. Roglič was particularly combative in the final two stages in the Alps by going long from the breakaway, a refreshing dynamic which we don’t get to see too often from the riders who are often engulfed in a GC battle. 

Giulio Pellizzari naturally drew plenty of attention after his exploits in the under-23 ranks, which included finishing runner-up in the 2023 edition of the Tour de l’Avenir behind none other than Isaac del Toro. Racing for the VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè team in 2024, Pellizzari made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia, where he impressed greatly. 

On stage 16, where he was agonisingly caught and passed by a rampant pink panther named Tadej Pogačar, though Pellizzari did receive some memorabilia from the Slovenian at the finish after finishing 2nd on the stage.

When his transfer to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe for 2025 was announced, there was plenty of excitement, and rightly so. Pellizzari enjoyed an excellent debut season with the German team, which included 6th-place finishes at both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. 

To illustrate how impressive this level of consistency is, the 21-year-old was one of three riders to finish in the top 10 of at least two Grand Tours in 2025, alongside Jonas Vingegaard and Felix Gall.

For only the second and third Grand Tours of his career and his young age, it makes this achievement is even more impressive for Pellizzari, who also showed he can play the team role as well as stepping up to lead when required. 

Three riders are tied at the top of the race days list for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in 2025. Filip Maciejuk, Ben Zwiehoff and Dutch champion Danny van Poppel all started 78 times for the German team this season.

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