Cycling
Want to become a Red Bull Junior Brother? Here's what you need to know
Red Bull Junior Brothers aims to find road cycling's newest stars by placing talented Under-19 riders in the development team of a major UCI World Tour outfit. Find out more below.
UCI World Tour pro-cycling team BORA - hansgrohe and Red Bull came together in 2023 to launch Red Bull Junior Brothers, a global Under-19 scouting programme aimed at finding the next generation of male professional road cyclists. The good news is that this collaboration will continue in 2024.
Read on below to find out more about what Red Bull Junior Brothers is all about, from the details on who can apply and what you have to do to be considered to what then happens should you apply.
01
What is Red Bull Junior Brothers?
4 min
What is Red Bull Junior Brothers?
Wondering what Red Bull Junior Brothers is all about? Find out more about the pro cycling programme here.
The Red Bull Junior Brothers programme aims to find the next superstar in road cycling. Someone who could become a grand tour winner in the Tour de France, Vuelta Espana or Giro d'Italia, or win single-day classics like Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders.
Young athletes will have a chance to become a professional cyclist, receive an athlete partnership deal with Red Bull and be part of one of the best road cycling teams in the world in BORA - hansgrohe.
3 min
Becoming an elite cyclist
BORA - hansgrohe riders Primož Roglič and Anton Palzer talk about their path to the elite echelons of road cycling.
More on Red Bull Junior Brothers
02
The carrot of a pro contract with BORA - hansgrohe
The Red Bull Junior Brothers programme is offering young athletes a chance to compete for a BORA – hansgrohe Under-19 pro-contract. Two athletes will be awarded contracts.
That contract will be with BORA – hansgrohe's junior development team, Team Grenke - Auto Eder. Additionally, the two athletes will receive a Red Bull athlete partnership deal, and all that entails.
Last year's winners Patrick Casey and Anatol Friedl at team camp
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
BORA - hansgrohe are currently the seventh-ranked UCI World Tour team. They are managed by Ralph Denk, a German who founded them in 2010 [then operating under the name Team NetApp].
Team Grenke – Auto Eder have a track record of bringing through talent, with riders going on to ride for BORA – hansgrohe themselves or pursuing cycling careers elsewhere.
03
Interested? This is what you need to do to be considered
Young athletes interested in this opportunity will compete for the contracts on offer initially through Zwift, the well-known indoor cycling training platform.
Participants will have to log their rides on a specially-created Red Bull Junior Brothers Workout on Zwift between March 1 and April 30, 2024. Logged rides on that segment should be publicly visible.
If you intend to log a ride on Red Bull Junior Brothers Workout on Zwift for the purpose of participating in Red Bull Junior Brothers, then you must express your interest by clicking on the sign-up button on the Red Bull Junior Brothers project page by April 30 to be considered.
Naturally, as a scouting programme to find promising junior athletes, there is an age restriction for those who can apply. To enter, participants in the programme must be under 19 years of age and born between 2007 and 2008.
Get logging your ride on the Red Bull Junior Brothers workout on Zwift
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
04
What is the Red Bull Junior Brothers Workout on Zwift
Interested applicants will have to tackle the Red Bull Junior Brothers Workout on Zwift, a workout test that lasts 57 minutes in total. Click here to go straight to the Zwift workout.
The workout will be available to do at set times twice a day from March 1 till April 30. These times are 8am GMT and then later in the day at 6pm GMT.
The Red Bull Junior Brothers Workout on Zwift involves the below stages (in order):
Duration
Intensity
Load
Instruction
10 minutes
50-80% FTP
Ramp-up
Warm up ramp at endurance level with high cadence
5 minutes
50-60% FTP
Constant Load
Easy riding to get ready for the 12min testing
12 minutes
Critical Power (All-Out)
Free chosen power
Give it all and try to achieve the highest 12 minute average power
20 minutes
50-60% FTP
Constant Load
Easy riding to recover and get ready for the 5 minutes testing
5 minutes
Critical Power (All-Out)
Free chosen power
Give it all and try to achieve the highest 5 minute average power!
8 minutes
50-25% FTP
Ramp-down
Cool-down
The following Zwift data is also required when you log a workout ride:
- Name + contact data (e-mail)
- Body weight (in kg)
- Height (in cm)
- Critical Power 12 minute (W and W/kg)
- Critical Power 5 minute (W and W/kg)
- Type of power meter and/or type of smart trainer
- Access to test file (for further analysis)
What you'll see when you do the Red Bull Junior Brothers Workout on Zwift
© Zwift
This test should be done after a recovery or easy day. During the morning of the test, take your current body weight and prepare just like you would for a normal race day. That means everything from food to training to any other pre-race rituals you have.
It is recommended to perform the test two to three times to get your best values (test familiarisation). Please keep at least two days in between the attempts.
With Zwift being used in the application process it means anyone from anywhere in the world can compete for a chance to win an athlete contract.
05
Expressed an interest and logged a ride? What happens next?
In May, rides on the Red Bull Junior Brothers Workout on Zwift will be evaluated. BORA - hansgrohe will then identify 15 athletes who they want to look at more closely and they will be invited to move on to the next process of the programme – a performance camp.
06
The performance camp for selected athletes
The 15 selected athletes will attend a performance camp at Red Bull's APC (Athlete Performance Centre) in Austria that will be overseen by BORA – hansgrohe and Team Grenke – Auto Eder's staff. This takes place between June 3–8.
At this camp, athletes will be assessed via a mixture of testing and rides. Staff will also be getting to know the individuals involved and see if they have the aptitude to become a professional cyclist.
The final 15 will undergo rigorous testing on and off the road
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Transportation and accommodation for athletes invited to attend the performance camp will be arranged by Red Bull.
07
Decision time. Who will get the Under-19 contracts?
8 min
Red Bull Junior Brothers: Final selection week 2023
BORA - hansgrohe in partnership with Red Bull announce the winners of Red Bull Junior Brothers 2023 after an intensive final selection week.
At the end of the camp, the performance team at BORA - hansgrohe, headed by Dr Christian Schrot, Head of Scouting & Development, will come to a decision on the two athletes they'd like to take on and be placed at Team Grenke - Auto Eder.
The hard work then starts for those athletes as they look to fulfil their promise to become cycling's next big talent.