Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe hints at different approach with Pithie and Tim and Mick van Dijke: 'We don't have Boonen, Sagan or Van der Poel'

For the New Zealander, this means a return to his old stomping ground, as he rode for (then) NetApp team boss Ralph Denk between 2013 and 2016. After Dempster ended his career with Israel in 2019, he immediately started as a team manager there. He also took on that role at INEOS in 2023, before being poached by his former employer for a leading sporting role.

“I've had a busy few months, but it's been fun. There are some familiar faces, but mostly a lot of new people. It feels like coming home,” said Dempster, who, like some of his colleagues, made the move from INEOS. Highly regarded performance specialists Dan Bigham and Jonny Wale, as well as fellow team manager Oliver Cookson, also came to Red Bull from the British team.

“For me, INEOS, and previously Sky, has always been the benchmark,” explains team owner Ralph Denk. “When I got into cycling in 2010, we were operating on completely different budgets. Now that I also have a good budget, we have been able to entice some guys to join our team. For us, it's a confirmation that guys of such quality are joining our team.”

“It's not that we should be looking at an INEOS exodus,” adds Dempster. “It's more the project that's going on here that appeals. When I look around during a meeting and see all those names, from Sven Vanthourenhout to Allan Peiper, I'm really impressed. We're in a position where we can pave our own way, and that's very appealing.”

That path is then financed by Red Bull. “Red Bull now has 51 percent, but I still have 49 percent,” says Denk, who is still involved as CEO. “You get a different price for a cycling team than for a Formula 1 team, haha. When I see what Toto Wolff gets at Mercedes, I might as well start crying.” (laughs)

“We are looking for success, and with Red Bull, the foundation is now in place, so it's up to us to capitalize on it. And that's not just success, because our medium-term ambitions are to be the most attractive cycling team,” says Denk. “With all the talent we have on board, that's the goal: Remco, Florian, but also Giulio Pellizzari, Lorenzo Finn, and everyone else. Zak is now our Chief of Sports and is also only 38 years old, but that's part of our new strategy: giving young people a chance.”

“Zak has taken an approach in which he wants to have the protagonists on board from day one,” says Denk, who is positive about his Chief of Sports, who already had to make the necessary decisions for the major tours. “The guys are part of the selection process: Remco and Florian know our thoughts and are fully on board with that strategy.”

“As an Olympic and world champion, Remco even takes pressure off Florian. We've seen that in the past with Sagan: because of him, Schachmann, Buchmann, Ackermann, and others also won. In 2019, we won 47 times, only four of which were by Sagan.”

As for the Grand Tours, Dempster was clear about his choices. “With Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley, we have two good leaders for the Giro, while Aleksandr Vlasov will also start and we are betting on stage wins with Danny van Poppel and other stage winners. We have to take a good look at the course and see where we can make up time.”

"In the Tour, we're targeting Remco and Florian, but around them we also have a core group that can go for stage wins. I'm thinking, for example, of Daniel Felipe Martinez, who not so long ago finished second in the Giro. For the Vuelta, we hope to have Primoz at his best. It's difficult to do the double, so we've had to make sacrifices," says Dempster, referring to Roglic skipping the Tour.

But first, spring, when Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe wants to wash away the disappointment of 2025. With the acquisitions of Laurence Pithie, Oier Lazkano, Jan Tratnik, Tim, and Mick van Dijke, things did not go as hoped, so Dempster was able to get to work right away. “When I came on board, I talked to all the riders and staff. They felt they were better than what they had achieved,” said the New Zealander.

“We don't have a Tom Boonen, Peter Sagan, or Mathieu van der Poel, so we have to be creative, but also cautious. These guys need to look beyond just WorldTour races so they can ride in finals. We're starting with a younger team in the spring classics, so we'll be more the hunter than the prey,” he said.

“There are races in the spring that we can win, but we also have to be realistic and say: guys like Laurence Pithie and the Van Dijke brothers can or must also tackle races like Nokere, Denain or even Kuurne or Het Nieuwsblad with both hands,” he opts for a new approach. 'Winning Flanders or Roubaix is not easy, so it's mainly about creating momentum in the cobbled classics.

“Take Jordi Meeus. He was third in Gent-Wevelgem, so should he ride in support in Flanders or Roubaix? No, because he needs to be fresh for the big hits. It's just one example, and I could actually talk about this topic for half an hour, but you understand what I mean,” the Kiwi tells us.

“We've also signed Gianni Vermeersch for the core of the group,” says Dempster, explaining the recruitment of the experienced Belgian. “We'll only look back after the entire block of classics, so that includes the Ardennes with Remco Evenepoel and numerous other riders. But I have every confidence that the team will also show improvement on the cobbles.”

With Evenepoel, the team will definitely be going for victory in the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but – although he himself would have liked to – not yet in Flanders. “There are always tough nuts to crack. Saying ‘yes’ to everything is not a brave choice; sometimes we have to be specific in order to protect them,” concludes Dempster, who, with Evenepoel and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, wants to go all out for the maximum in July in his first year with the team.