Zak Dempster was dressed in Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe black team clothing rather than Ineos Grenadiers red at Il Lombardia, in one of his first public moments in his new role as the German team's new Chief of Sports.
The 38-year-old Australian was a directeur sportif at Ineos and led the British team's Tour de France project. He will have a far more senior role at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, with responsibility for performance and racing.
Dempster will manage the team around new leader Remco Evenepoel, as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe take on UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike and target the Tour de France. He will have to carefully balance Evenepoel's arrival with the roles of Primož Roglič and Florian Lipowitz in the Grand Tours and the team's wider ambitions in 2026 and beyond.
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"There's a sense of urgency to get things in place, and I've been getting at it," Dempster told Cyclingnews, explaining that he was allowed to start his new role on October 1 after serving a notice period at Ineos.
"As the Chief of Sport, my main responsibility is to help with the big picture. I'm more or less the sports manager. My role is about putting it all together with the directeur sportif, the coaching group and the sports science group. I won't be a DS in the team car any more but I have to look after the cohesion and collaboration in the team, which is so important for performance."
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe parted ways with veteran sports manager Rolf Aldag and leading directeur sportif Enrico Gasparotto after the Tour de France.
They also signed Oliver Cookson from Ineos as their new Head of Racing and he will oversee the work of 11 directeur sportif across the WorldTour, U23, and U19 teams. These include former Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout and Klaas Lodewyck, who worked closely with Evenepoel at Soudal-QuickStep.
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"We don't lack talent and we've built a really talented roster for 2026"
World time trial champion Remco Evenepoel (Image credit: Getty Images)
Dempster raced as a professional in Europe for 11 years, starting with the John Herety's Rapha Condor Sharp team. He raced for Team NetApp-Endura and Bora-Argon 18 between 2013 and 2016, which was the foundation of the current Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe project. He ended his career at the Israel Cycling Academy before joining Ineos as a directeur sportif.
"Zak knows our team like very few others. He played an important role in shaping our history, and despite his young age, he already brings extensive international leadership experience," team manager Ralph Denk said when he made the surprise announcement of Dempster's arrival at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
"I'm convinced that his fresh ideas, clear leadership style, and fearlessness will help us write the next chapter in our sporting evolution."
Dempster is known for his quiet but commanding style. He listens to people but also leads.
"I think I'm a pretty structured guy and I think I'm very, very direct too," Dempster said.
"I feel I commit to things if I really believe in them, and this is a project I really believe in. There are some great things to celebrate about the team, even from when I raced here. The ambition is for much more. I'm excited to play my part in pulling it all together.
"I like to be part of a high-performing team. It's not just about having high-performing individuals, it's about creating a team."
Dempster arguably faces one of the most intense roles in the sport as Evenepoel joins the team. They have no doubt already talked at length, with the team's winter get together in the next few weeks and then the first training camps, vital steps towards success and unity in 2026.
"I've been speaking to the riders this week, listening to them and getting their insights, asking what they like about the team and also what we can improve and where we want to go," Dempster revealed.
"There's been some long days of listening, but it's been great to get on board. We don't lack talent, and we've built a really talented roster for 2026."
"We're also in a really good place with the knowledge of the DS and the performance team. I want to have a collaborative environment where people contribute to the project and are happy to give their all.
"It's not going to always be comfortable, because it's about performance. But that's the direction we're going as a team."
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
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