Red Bull Powers Up with Jan Tratnik, Is Remco Evenepoel Next?

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Jan Tratnik is the latest confirmed rider to join Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe as the German team continues to bolster its lineup in a major makeover for 2025.

The 34-year-old Slovenian will move across from Visma-Lease a Bike and will rejoin compatriot and ex-teammate Primož Roglič on an ever stronger lineup to take on Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.

“Maybe I’m not the youngest, but I’m really happy to join a team with so many ambitions,” Tratnik said Tuesday. “I still have a lot of personal goals, but I also want to share my experience with the young guys and help the team push the limits in all areas.”

After winning the Vuelta a España with Roglič earlier this month, the team isn’t slowing down in the transfer market as it tries to elbow its way to the top of the WorldTour hierarchy.

Tratnik will reunite with compatriot Roglič, and provide a solid ballast of experience and winning pedigree for the Red Bull team undergoing a fast transformation.

Major moves since Red Bull arrival

The Tratnik deal comes on the heels of confirmation that Spanish sensation Oier Lazkano chose Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe over several other suitors.

The moves are part of a makeover for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe as it’s reshaping the team going into its first full season since the high-profile Red Bull merger.

The squad is shedding some of its older talent and bringing on younger riders.

Several big names are on the way out, including Bob Jungels (Ineos Grenadiers), Max Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step), Emanuel Buchmann (Cofidis), Sergio Higuita (Astana Qazaqstan), Lennard Kämna (Lidl-Trek), Patrick Gamper (Jayco-AlUla) and Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling).

Also read: Red Bull eyeing transfer market to transition to future

In addition to Tratnik and Lazkano, the team has signed several young quality riders.

Other new arrivals include Laurence Pithie, 22, (Groupama-FDJ), Finn Fisher-Black, also 22, (UAE Team Emirates), 20-year-old Italian promise Giulio Pellizzari (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), and twin brothers Mick and Tim Van Dijke (Visma-Lease a Bike), both 24.

Tratnik helps fill those gaps on a one-year deal.

“Talent needs experience. That’s why it was important for us to sign someone who has been in the peloton for several seasons,” said CEO Ralph Denk. “Jan is a prime example of a rider who is both a team player and has the hunger and strength to succeed on his own.”

Rumor mill keeps churning about Evenepoel

The latest market noises also come against the backdrop of the blockbuster transfer intrigue of the possible arrival of Remco Evenepoel from Soudal Quick-Step.

The rumor mill is buzzing that the double Olympic champion could pull up stakes, break his contract with Quick-Step, and join the German-based “super team” for 2025.

The 24-year-old Evenepoel is under contract with Soudal Quick-Step through the end of the 2026 season, yet it’s no surprise that the double Olympic champion is at the center of ongoing transfer rumors.

“I also hear and read the rumors every day in Italian, English and Belgian newspapers, but I have nothing to say about it,” Denk told Het Laatste Nieuws at the conclusion of the Vuelta a España earlier this month.

“It is gossip and I am not allowed, cannot and do not want to respond to it,” he said. “No matter how annoying that is for you journalists.”

Also read: No comment on Evenepoel transfer rumors

Last year, Evenepoel was at the center of a failed merger plan between Soudal Quick-Step and Visma-Lease a Bike that rocked the rider market. Efforts to lure him away to Ineos Grenadiers also petered out.

Any early exit out of the Belgian team would require Evenepoel to break his contract with the “Wolfpack,” and depending on the terms of the contract, it’s likely that could be very expensive.

Only a few teams could afford that, and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is right at the top of the list.

So far, all the key players refuse to publicly comment.

That hasn’t stopped suggestions that the deal is all but done.