Jonas Vingegaard's former coach Tim Heemskerk is already working with rival riders, joining Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe with immediate effect, just three months after stepping away from Visma-Lease a Bike.
Heemskerk had worked with Visma and Vingegaard since the start of the Dane's WorldTour career, in 2019, helping him to two Tour de France titles along the way.
After adding the Vuelta a España to that palmarès last year, the relationship appeared set to continue into 2026 until the sudden and surprising announcement in early February that Heemskerk would leave the team with immediate effect.
"I have noticed that I was struggling to continue applying my creativity and passion," said Heemskerk at the time, adding: "I will take some time for myself and reflect on my future."
Three months on, on Wednesday, May 13, he was unveiled as a new member of the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe coaching staff, effective immediately.
“We are pleased to welcome Tim to our coaching group. He brings valuable experience from working with Grand Tour riders and will be a strong addition to our existing performance staff," said the team's Chief of Sports, Zak Dempster.
"We are continuing to build a coaching environment with deep experience, different perspectives and a strong culture of collaboration — and Tim is a very good fit for that environment.”
It was not specified which riders Heemskerk will be working with at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. The team simply said that he will "oversee the training management of selected WorldTour riders".
Remco Evenepoel is the squad's star rider, while Giulio Pellizzari and Florian Lipowitz are two emerging Grand Tour stars, and Primož Roglič a highly-decorated but perhaps fading force.
The team's coaching department has undergone its own upheaval in recent weeks, with long-time coaching director Dan Lorang moving towards the exit at the end of the Tour de France. John Wakefield currently holds the role of Head Coach.
"He [Heemskerk] joins an established and successful coaching group at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, where all WorldTour coaches have guided riders to Grand Tour victories and podium finishes," read a statement from the team.
"The continued development of the coaching group reflects the team’s commitment to building one of the leading high-performance environments in professional cycling."
