Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe delivers: "Sven Vanthourenhout builds a strong team"

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe saw their strong performance at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad rewarded on Saturday with a second place for Tim van Dijke, but the team also showed depth. Laurence Pithie, Mick van Dijke, and Jordi Meeus were also in the front group. For Tim van Dijke and Sven Vanthourenhout, the result is a nice confirmation, they told WielerFlits.

"We really made significant investments," said Van Dijke. "If you look at what Jarrad Drizners did in the wind... I think he’s the Man of the Match today. And then we have Sven Vanthourenhout who is truly building a team. There are many more tactics and calmness now. Also with Gianni as captain, we’ve really taken a step forward. It had to happen and I was looking forward to it, and it has paid off."

The new team director Vanthourenhout was also more than satisfied with his new team’s performance. The Belgian explained he had been working on Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe’s classics squad for months. "We didn’t start yesterday, you know. We’ve been at it since December. We worked hard and it’s nice to see that confirmed like this."

'We just wanted to be in the mix'
"We knew we were in good shape, but many teams come to Omloop aiming for the podium, so I’m happy we pulled it off. We didn’t ride with a specific result in mind; we just wanted to be present at the key moments. That this result comes as a bonus on top is just great."

Vanthourenhout had expected a rider like Tim van Dijke to be the one to get the job done in Ninove. "Definitely. The Van Dijke brothers, Laurence Pithie, and Gianni Vermeersch – we really believe in them. With Jordi Meeus as a sprinter, the team’s collective strength is real. What we now have to do is not sit back. This is the start of an important period."