“They don’t just want to be among the best — they want to be the best”
Sobrero admitted that the search for marginal gains within Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe is relentless, involving an array of specialists brought in from other elite sports.
“You really feel that pursuit of the extreme inside the team,” he explained. “But to be honest — and this isn’t a criticism — it’s nothing entirely new. The same thing happens in other top teams. INEOS Grenadiers were the first to invest heavily in nutrition; then Team Visma | Lease a Bike took it another step further with Asker Jeukendrup, and others gradually followed.”
The Red Bull model, he said, reflects the modern philosophy of top-level cycling — staying not just up to date, but one step ahead. “It’s the current philosophy in cycling: keeping up with the times, and for the best teams, trying to anticipate them. Red Bull has invested huge amounts in other sports and now it’s doing the same in cycling, focusing on areas where it believes there’s still room to improve. They don’t just want to be among the best, they want to be the best.”
But Sobrero noted that the drive for excellence has come with a cost. “Compared to other teams — even international ones — there’s a more corporate atmosphere here. That old sense of familiarity has faded. Especially this past year, you could feel that shift. Everyone has their own area of expertise and gives everything within that space.”
Sobrero in action
“The good part is the level; the bad part is losing the human touch”
For Sobrero, the investment in people and technology has elevated performance standards across the board — but also distanced riders from one another. “I worked well with everyone, but that’s how it is in the big teams,” he said. “The good thing is that huge investment pushes everyone higher; the downside is that the human side gets lost. Teams now have nearly 200 people — there are staff you meet at the first training camp in October and never see again all year.”
Behind the scenes, the team’s performance department is headed by renowned former triathlon coach Dan Lorang, with Jeukendrup managing nutrition and other experts like Dan Bigham (aerodynamics) and Peter Klöppel (mental coaching) also involved.
“Lorang comes from triathlon, where he was a real guru,” Sobrero said. “He organises and supervises all the other coaches. He’s someone who’s constantly researching, studying, updating methods — a researcher of research. If Red Bull wasn’t performing, he’d step in to find out why.”
“Everything is measured to the gram”
That same analytical mindset extends to food. “We Italians come from a culture that naturally keeps us balanced,” Sobrero explained. “We eat well and in moderation, and that was something they also recognised at Red Bull. The only difference is that there, balance is measured to the gram.”
Under Jeukendrup’s guidance, riders use the ‘Food Coach’ app to log every meal and portion, connecting them directly with their assigned nutritionists. “Asker developed an app that links you to your nutritionist. For every meal, you log what you ate and how much. His methods really work — especially in Grand Tours, where his system can make a difference. But now, most teams use similar approaches. The whole sport has shifted towards the extreme.”
“The risk is burnout”
For a rider like Evenepoel, whose arrival will bring intense scrutiny, Sobrero believes that kind of hyper-controlled environment could be both a blessing and a burden.
“It can weigh on you — for some more than others,” he admitted. “In some ways it makes life easier because you don’t have to think about anything, but for riders who’ve done things their own way for ten years, changing habits isn’t easy. You need the clarity to say: ‘I’ll do it because it’s an investment in myself.’”
Mental support, he added, is crucial to keeping that balance. “Everyone makes sacrifices to reach the limit, but the risk is burnout. And that’s becoming increasingly common — lots of riders end up quitting almost suddenly. It’s up to the psychologist to make sure that fine line between perfection and exhaustion isn’t crossed.”
As Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe continues to expand its performance-driven empire with Evenepoel at its core, Sobrero’s reflections offer a rare glimpse into the mindset of a team obsessed with excellence — and a reminder that even in the world’s most sophisticated setups, the human factor remains the hardest to measure.