Former Jonas Vingegaard coach joins Red Bull with immediate effect

The Dutchman, who worked closely with Jonas Vingegaard throughout the Dane’s rise to the top of the sport, will operate under Head Coach John Wakefield and take responsibility for the training management of selected WorldTour riders.

His arrival adds further depth to an already experienced coaching group at Red Bull, where the WorldTour coaches have previously guided riders to Grand Tour victories and podium finishes. The move forms part of the team’s wider push to build one of the strongest high performance environments in professional cycling.

“We are pleased to welcome Tim to our coaching group,” said Zak Dempster, Chief of Sports at Red Bull. “He brings valuable experience from working with Grand Tour riders and will be a strong addition to our existing performance staff. We are continuing to build a coaching environment with deep experience, different perspectives and a strong culture of collaboration, and Tim is a very good fit for that environment.”

The team has not disclosed which riders Heemskerk will work with, but with Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Primož Roglič, Giulio Pellizzari and Daniel Felipe Martínez on the roster, there are plenty of GC riders who could benefit from his expertise.

Heemskerk’s move comes only 4 months after Visma confirmed his departure. He had spent eight years with the Dutch team and had coached Vingegaard since the Dane joined the squad in 2019.

During that period, Vingegaard developed from a promising climber into one of the defining Grand Tour riders of his generation, winning the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023 as well as the Vuelta a España last season.

In a statement released by Visma, Heemskerk said he had reached a point where he was struggling to keep applying the creativity and passion he considers central to his work.

“That was the moment for me to be honest with myself and with the team,” he said. “I look back with pride on the growth of the team, myself, and the riders, including of course Jonas.”

Visma’s Head of Performance Mathieu Heijboer, who took over Vingegaard’s training, described the split as the “best outcome” after a series of conversations with Heemskerk.

“He has played a major role in the development of the training philosophy we apply within the team and in achieving our sporting results,” Heijboer said. “I wish him all the best in the next stage of his career.”

Heemskerk’s arrival is not the first recent move of a key staff member from Visma to Red Bull. In late 2024, the architect behind the Dutch team’s widely praised nutrition strategy also made the switch to the German squad.