Maxim Van Gils , one of the protagonists of last season, has finally broken his silence on the difficulties encountered in his first year with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe .

The Belgian talent, who impressed in 2024 with a third place at Strade Bianche and a fourth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège , was expected to be one of the new stars of the German team. However, a series of setbacks compromised the first part of his 2025 season.

A complicated winter

"The strange thing is that last year I always felt bad in training, but in competition everything fell into place," Van Gils confessed to Het Nieuwsblad . "It was as if I could throw an arrow blindfolded and still hit the target. This year, even though I did things more correctly and often felt better, everything went wrong."

A chain of unfavorable events

The rider had to deal with illnesses during the winter, problems at the Ruta del Sol , allergies in the spring and finally a fall at the Amstel Gold Race . After this difficult period, he returned to racing at the Tour of Norway , where he won a stage, and is now at the Critérium du Dauphiné .

The weight of the transfer

Van Gils admitted that the complex transfer from Lotto may have affected his preparation: "It's not that I would make a different choice today, but it made the winter different from usual. There was more talk about the transfer than about training. Maybe I underestimated that aspect."

Looking to the future

"I haven't been crying in bed or walking around depressed," he said with determination. "I signed up here for three years. There's no rush. There's still time to achieve my goals."

For Fantacycling fans, this could be the right time to bet on Van Gils: his victory at the Tour of Norway suggests a return to form that could translate into important results, and therefore fantapoints, in the second part of the season.