PINEROLO – The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies team is a project born a few months ago with the aim of collecting the output of the junior team, Grenke Auto Eder. The under 23 team project came to fruition with the arrival of the giant Red Bull as the main sponsor of the WorldTour team. An important step, but in a certain sense almost obligatory, in order not to lose the development work done with the kids, but also to offer them a path ready to follow. John Wakefield is responsible for the development of the Rookies team, born only six months ago and capable of almost wearing the pink jersey at Giro Next Gen (opening photo Maximilian Fries).
«Personally – he told us at the end of the Under 23 Giro d'Italia – we're on a good path, perhaps even ahead of our expectations and goals for the first year of this project. In terms of performance, we moved well and were ready for the races we had planned., in particular to Giro Next Gen».
A “dream” journey
Having the opportunity to enter a reality like that of the world Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe It's a dream for many young people. The team's goal, as it was in the past when Greke Auto Eder was the only youth team, is to recruit the best young people in the world. Lorenzo Mark Finn, together with Theodor August Clemmens and Paul Fietzke they are the riders who have had the opportunity to continue their journey after the junior category.
«This is our “perfect world” – continues Wakefield – because with our process of scouting and development we want a boy to go from the Grenke Auto Eder team to the Rookies team, then to the WorldTour and finally to win. Instead of hiring or buying athletes just because they are good, we aim for development and growth. The moment we do scouting we look at what the rider has done in the past, what he is doing today and what we think we will get from him tomorrow."
The Rookies project started this year, so some kids who weren't with you before have been included...
Lo scouting It is also important among the under 23s, as well as among the juniors (and students, ed.). Davide Donati is an example of what has been said, he comes from an Italian team where he had already raced for a year (under 23, ed.). There are limited places inside Grenke, so if certain athletes were not identified at the time or did not have the opportunity to race with us, we will bring them into the Rookies team.
Does having such a big sponsor behind you help a lot?
Without a doubt. The sporting history behind the brand is always an advantage. Even their way of approaching sport, in general, is a significant calling card.If you look at the motor racing side, the Rookies project works, many drivers who now race in Formula 1 grew up this way.
How important is winning to you?
Nothing is more attractive to a rider than a winning team. If your team gets few wins it's difficult to attract the best athletes, but what matters is not success but rather learning. We don't have to win every single race, but in every race we start with that goal. Losing is part of the game and teaches a lotWe don't want our athletes to peak performance too early. You have to maximize the growth process when you get to the pros.
How do you manage so many strong kids who want to emerge?
Building the team and the collaborative climate. Lorenzo Finn had left for the Giro Next Gen with the role of captain But when Luke Tuckwell took over, he made himself available. It doesn't matter who you have on your team, even the A-Team wouldn't win if they didn't have team spirit. No athlete is bigger than the teamIt is not possible for a rider to always be number one.
However, not everyone wants to be a team player or is willing to take a back seat.
True, you see this often in every sport. This is where the way we educate riders comes in and we try to make them understand that cycling is constantly changing., and if they don't understand this they will have great difficulties in their career.
It's hard to imagine that all the riders who come through your development teams will then go to the WorldTour, places are limited anyway...
True. Our dream is that all the boys will then be able to run with the main team. But if we see that a rider is ready and wants to leave because he thinks he doesn't have space, that's fine with us. We've done our job anyway.
Officially, only one athlete from the Rookies team already has a contract with the WorldTour team for the next few years. Why is that?
Because we don't believe it's a success for the athlete to have a defined program. They are young guys who have a lot to learnStaying an extra year in the development team is normal and can happen. Just as it can happen to only race one season in the under-23s. But this is not something that is decided at the table.Otherwise it would be like throwing someone to the wolves. With us you know you have the opportunity to race in the WorldTour, then if someone thinks they're ready sooner or has different ideas and finds another team, that's fine too. I repeat, we want to create a growth path.
