Red Bull launches ambitious new project in search for cycling’s next superstars

For years, riders such as Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock and Thibau Nys have demonstrated the benefits of combining different cycling disciplines. Their success on the road, built partly on foundations established in cyclocross and mountain biking, has encouraged teams to look beyond traditional development pathways.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is now taking its own steps in that direction.

Under the guidance of Vanthourenhout, the team has established a cyclocross programme focused initially on junior talent. World champion Delano Heeren, Lars Peers, Matteo Gualtieri and Benjamin Huber are among the first riders involved.

The initiative has the backing of team manager Ralph Denk and Red Bull, with Vanthourenhout playing a central role in bringing the project to life.

"When I first met with Ralph, he asked me about my vision for cycling in general," Vanthourenhout told WielerFlits. "I immediately made it clear that I consider cyclocross an extremely important discipline for the development of young riders."

Although the programme is still in its early stages, the investment is already substantial.

Red Bull is providing dedicated mechanics, equipment and logistical support, allowing its young riders to compete with the backing of a professional WorldTour organisation.

The operation will expand during the winter when Gianni Vermeersch and under-23 prospect Michiel Mouris join the programme, bringing additional resources and a stronger presence at higher levels of competition.

According to Vanthourenhout, securing support from Red Bull and the team's other sponsors was not a major obstacle.

"We really didn't have to push very hard," he explained. "Additional budgets had to be made available, but Red Bull and the other sponsors were immediately willing to support the project."

The move into cyclocross is not Red Bull's first initiative aimed at discovering cycling's future stars.

In 2023, Red Bull joined forces with Bora-Hansgrohe to launch Red Bull Junior Brothers, a global scouting programme designed to identify promising young riders through performance data collected on Strava and Zwift.

The initiative gave young athletes an opportunity to showcase their potential outside traditional racing structures, with two selected riders offered contracts with the team's junior development squad.

Since then, Red Bull has continued strengthening its development structure.

The Grenke Auto Eder junior team and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies under-23 squad provide a pathway towards the WorldTour, with the Rookies established in 2025 to bridge the gap between junior and professional racing.

The structure is already delivering results. Following the 2025 season, Adrien Boichis, Luke Tuckwell and Callum Thornley earned promotion to the WorldTour team for 2026, while four riders from the junior programme stepped up to the under-23 squad.

Cyclocross now adds another dimension to that pathway, giving Red Bull further opportunities to identify promising talent while helping young riders develop their technical skills and versatility across different racing disciplines.

The initiative inevitably draws comparisons with Alpecin-Premier Tech, where brothers Philip and Christoph Roodhooft have spent more than two decades building a successful multidisciplinary cycling structure.

Mathieu van der Poel is the most prominent example of that approach, combining world-class performances in cyclocross with victories in some of road cycling's biggest races.

However, Vanthourenhout rejects the suggestion that Red Bull is simply trying to recreate their model.

"We might share the same philosophy, but that doesn't mean we're trying to copy what they've achieved."

For now, the German organisation intends to develop its cyclocross operation gradually, concentrating on providing the best possible environment for its junior riders rather than building a large standalone team.