First spring with Red Bull contrasts sharply to Lotto days: "Back then, I hit the bullseye with my eyes closed'

In 2024, Van Gils was one of the biggest revelations of the spring season. Let’s recap: 7th in Milan-San Remo, 3rd in La Flèche Wallonne, 4th in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and a win in Eschborn-Frankfurt. “The strange thing is that I always felt terrible during training last year,” he tells Het Nieuwsblad. “But during the races, everything just clicked. It was like I could throw darts with my eyes closed and still hit the bullseye. This year, I’ve done things much more precisely and often felt better, but everything has gone wrong. Oddly enough, my form has never been the issue.”

Last year, he won his very first race, the opening stage of the Ruta del Sol, and this year, he managed to repeat that with another stage win there. It seemed like a great start, despite a crash in the Étoile de Bessèges caused by a car entering the course. “But actually, things had already gone wrong before that,” he says. “Because I was sick, I joined the team camp later. That was the first setback, but I wasn’t stressed yet. There was still time, I thought it would be fine. But at the end of the Ruta del Sol, I got sick again. That was the first time I thought, ‘Shit.’”  

After struggling with illness, the Belgian rider wasn't in top shape for Milan–San Remo, where he finished 19th. He then headed to the Tour of the Basque Country to prepare for the spring classics, his main goal. “Beforehand, I felt great again. But once I got there, I started having problems again. An allergy. I just couldn’t move forward. After one day, I recovered and everything started to feel natural again. Just in time for the Ardennes classics, I thought. During the recon for the Amstel Gold Race, I even felt amazing. That was promising. I had sky-high expectations.”  

But then disaster struck again. A crash during the Dutch WorldTour race left him with a bruised tailbone. The timing couldn’t have been worse, and the consequences were serious. “It kept hurting like hell. I couldn’t even lie properly on the massage table. The problem with the tailbone was that I couldn’t do anything about it. I just had to be patient. Nature had to do its work. But the Ardennes week only lasts a week. It became a race against the clock.”  

Whereas last year he finished third at the Muur van Huy, this time Van Gils finished 43rd. But at least he finished. Liège–Bastogne–Liège turned into the biggest letdown. He had joked beforehand that the start podium would be the only podium he’d see that day. Early in the race, he had to abandon. “What do you expect? During recon the day before, I had to step off the bike before even reaching La Redoute. They had to drive me back to the hotel. Too much pain.”

And so, what was supposed to be a crucial spring campaign ended in disappointment. The high-profile transfer loomed large. Van Gils’ exit from Lotto turned into a legal saga, and Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe had to give up a lot to bring him in. “This obviously isn’t what you want,” the rider acknowledges. “Like you said, I had just joined a new team. Of course, you want to show the best version of yourself. That definitely wasn’t the case. On top of that, the team didn’t get the results it was aiming for.”

In fact, the entire classics squad underperformed. New signings like Laurence Pithie, Oier Lazkano, and Finn Fisher-Black failed to impress. “There were huge investments made. With too little return. But it’s not like I was crying in bed or walking around here depressed. Even during that Ardennes week, I could put things into perspective. Yes, it was frustrating. And no, I couldn’t race the way I wanted to. But panic? No. Besides, I signed for three years here. We’re not in a rush. There’s still time to achieve my goals.”

Van Gils did go on to win a stage at the Tour of Norway at the end of May.