Aldag leaves Red Bull ahead of possible Evenepoel revamp

Rolf Aldag will depart his role as chief of sports at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe at the end of this month, leaving the way open for former Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout, who is expected to join the squad from August 1.

Aldag’s departure seems to mark the beginning of a significant overhaul at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, who are heavily linked with a move to sign Remco Evenepoel, although the Belgian holds a contract with Soudal-QuickStep until the end of next season.

Aldag joined Bora-Hansgrohe ahead of the 2022 season after previous management roles at Highroad, QuickStep, Dimension Data and Canyon-SRAM. He arrived just as Peter Sagan departed the squad, which began to switch its emphasis from sprinting to stage racing.

Aldag enjoyed early success with Jai Hindley claiming overall victory on the 2022 Giro d’Italia, while Primoz Roglic won the 2024 Vuelta a España. Success at the Tour de France proved more elusive, though Florian Lipowitz claimed third overall and the white jersey at this year’s race. 

“Rolf took on responsibility during a time of transition and helped drive our team forward both athletically and structurally. We are deeply grateful for his dedication. He has left a lasting impact – both in sporting terms and on a personal level,” CEO Ralph Denk said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This chapter ends now that we have achieved our objectives, but the path we walked together has left its mark. Rolf was instrumental in shaping our team – it was a period defined by determination and a deep passion for cycling. We look back on these years with great respect and gratitude and sincerely wish Rolf all the best in whatever lies ahead. For the next chapter of our story, we have jointly decided to bring in fresh impetus and take a new direction.”

That “fresh impetus” is expected to be provided by Vanthourenhout, who confirmed in July that he would soon begin working with an unnamed WorldTour team. Het Nieuwsblad, Het Laatste Nieuws and Sporza all simultaneously reported that he would begin work for Red Bull on August 1.

“With the white jersey win and podium placement by Florian Lipowitz at this year’s Tour de France, we have reached the goals we set four years ago. Accordingly, we have jointly decided that now is the right time for both parties to pursue new challenges,” Aldag said. 

“Together, we successfully navigated the complex transition from a sprint-focused team to one built around stage racing, and celebrated major victories – always with a clear vision in mind. I am proud of what we achieved as a team. Now is the moment to take a new path.”

It is expected that Red Bull’s new path will – eventually – include Remco Evenepoel, though the transfer saga has been ongoing for some time.

La Gazzetta dello Sport and La Dernière Heure reported last week that Evenepoel had agreed terms with Red Bull, though the rider took the step of messaging Sporza’s commentary team on the Tour de France to deny the news, while Denk has also downplayed those reports.

Although Vanthourenhout guided Evenepoel to World Championships and Olympic success with the Belgian national team, his imminent arrival at Red Bull is understood to be independent of any eventual move for the rider.

Daniel Benson has reported that Evenepoel would be joined in any eventual move to Red Bull by his current Soudal-QuickStep teammate Mattia Cattaneo, with Belgian media reporting that directeur sportif Klaas Lodewyck would also make the switch.