A day after Remco Evenepoel made his bombshell announcement that he would be taking part in the Tour of Flanders for the first time this Sunday, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have revealed the rest of his backup squad.
The remainder of the squad is long on experience to help their rookie leader find his feet as quickly as possible in Belgium’s biggest and toughest cobbled Classic in what is surely the most widely anticipated debut since Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in 2022 – or maybe even more so.
Just one Red Bull ride for Sunday, Australia’s Jarrad Drizners, has never taken part before, whilst the remaining five domestiques have a total of 15 Flanders starts between them, and none have less than two.
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While the spotlight will logically fall the brightest on Evenepoel, therefore, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have certainly provided plenty of extra firepower to ensure Evenepoel is in pole position and fully supported when the main action really starts.
Possibly the key figure for Evenepoel will be Gianni Vermeersch, the 33-year-old Belgian with no less than seven previous Tours of Flanders already in his palmares, his best personal result being seventh in De Ronde in 2021, as well as participations in a host of other Classics. Vermeersch was the rider out training with Evenepoel last December when the Belgian was spotted riding up the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, and he’ll likely have a similar sherpa’s role come next Sunday. Vermeersch also finished fifth in Strade Bianche and eighth in the E3 Saxo Classic, so he is clearly in great shape as well.
With just two participations to date, but with immense experience in all kinds of cobbled Classics as well as a win in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2024, Jan Tratnik, 36, is expected to have a team captain’s role, while the twin Van Dijke brothers, Mick and Tim, will likely be much more prominent in the finale.
Tim recently secured a second place in Omloop, whilst Mick, like Tim, has also raced three Tours of Flanders already. Both brothers played an equally prominent role in the recent, ultra-difficult stage 4 of Paris-Nice, the two in a leading move of five dominated by Red Bull after a major crash had shattered the peloton.
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Yet more firepower will be provided by Laurence Pithie, although it’ll be intriguing to see exactly what role the 23-year-old New Zealander can play. Although he has not done so much racing on the cobbles as Vermeersch or Tratnik, 10 years and 13 years his senior, fifth in Dwars door Vlaanderen last Wednesday, suggests he could be hugely valuable on Sunday.
If Pithie could be most prominent in the middle or even the first part of the finale, Australia’s Jarrad Drizners is likely set to be a key player early on. Making his debut in Flanders at 26, the former U23 National Champion has recorded six DNFs out of six consecutive Classics starts, meaning he’s done most of his mission in the opening few hours before heading for an early ride to the team bus.
That’s in stark contrast to Evenepoel, of course, whom the team will be hoping stays well out of sight and trouble until the major race action gets underway – and he can start hitting the high notes.
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