At the Roodhooft brothers’ outfit, besides Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, they also have a new leader in mind: the 22-year-old all-rounder Tibor Del Grosso is set to take on that role more fully in the coming year.
The young talent completed his first professional road season last year, after previously becoming the U23 cyclo-cross world champion. And he did so with quite a splash. Del Grosso claimed his first pro victory at the Tour of Turkey and posted 24 (!) top-ten finishes on the road, with podiums in the Tour of Catalonia, a sixth place in Dwars door Vlaanderen, and a tenth in the Brabantse Pijl as the standout results for the young talent.
This has Christoph Roodhooft, sporting manager of Alpecin-Deceuninck, dreaming of even more. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had that level of talent at this age in our team, like Tibor Del Grosso,” he told our camera.
For 2026, Roodhooft expects Del Grosso to take another step forward. “In races like Dwars door Vlaanderen, those guys need to make their mark, or at least be in the mix to win at the right moment. Tibor was sixth there last year. Now he has to be in the group sprinting for the win,” said the manager.
Feet on the ground
The versatile rider himself keeps his feet firmly on the ground. “Expectations for young riders are much higher nowadays. That’s because young guys like Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar, Isaac Del Toro, and Paul Seixas are delivering top performances so early,” he said in an interview for the winter edition of RIDE Magazine.
“I really didn’t expect to be able to compete in finals at that level so quickly,” the youngster said. “In Catalonia, I was already close to winning stages a few times, and a few days later I finished in the top ten at Dwars door Vlaanderen. From that moment, it suddenly feels like the norm. People quickly forget how young you still are.”
