Red Bull announces winners of Bora-Hansgrohe Junior Brothers Programme 2024

Two 15-year-olds have been announced as this year’s winners of Red Bull and GRENKE Auto-Eder’s next generation talent-scouting initiative, the Red Bull Junior Brothers Programme 2024.

Latvian Georgs Tjumins and Karl Herzog from Germany will now be set up on the road to pro careers with U19 contracts at Bora-Hansgrohe’s feeder team, GRENKE-Auto Eder.

They follow in the steps of last year's winners, Patrick Casey and Anatol Friedl.

The pair will also become part of a growing batch of Red Bull athletes with individual sponsorship deals, joining the likes of Bora-Hansgrohe’s Anton Palzer, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Read more: Bora-Hansgrohe reveal the two winners of the Red Bull Junior Brothers programme 2023

“The level of talent has been strong this week, but Georgs Tjumins and Karl Herzog truly stood out,” said Dr. Christian Schrot, sports director and coach at GRENKE-Auto Eder. “Their skills, determination, and passion for cycling made them the perfect candidates for Team GRENKE-Auto Eder.

“We are excited to welcome these promising athletes to the team and look forward to seeing them make strides in their professional cycling careers.”

The Junior Brothers initiative featured an intense week of testing and training at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre in Thalgau, Austria. Early rounds of testing whittled the group down to a select 15, with the performance camp and U19 contracts designed to jump-start the pro careers of the most promising young athletes.

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A select group of athletes went through a final round of testing in Austria last week

Read more: Bora-Hansgrohe boss: We're looking for new superstars, not current superstars

Herzog will hope to replicate the success of his older brother Emil, himself a pro with Bora-Hansgrohe. The young German has enjoyed a promising junior career in both cycling and cross-country skiing – reminiscent of the team’s current star rider Primož Roglič, a ski jumper before he switched disciplines.

“Cycling is my passion, and winning this programme has motivated me to work even harder to achieve success at the highest level of the sport,” he said.

Tjumins meanwhile has come through the Latvian national team, contesting several successful races with the squad.

“It is a great feeling to be selected as one of the winners of the Red Bull Junior Brothers program,” Tjumins said. “I am excited to join the U19 team and learn from the best in the sport. Competing at the performance camp was a true test of my abilities, and I can't wait to race with the Red Bull helmet.”

The Junior Brothers programme was launched in 2023, marking another step by Red Bull into the cycling sphere before the seismic news of their majority stake in Bora-Hansgrohe was announced this year.

Read more: Red Bull acquires controlling stake in Bora-Hansgrohe