Of course winning, but Remco Evenepoel has a bigger goal in 2026

After the Tour of Valencia and Catalonia, there’s still some room. Are there options in between?
“I’ll go for a long altitude training camp and a lot of training. Maybe there will be a race in between, but nothing is set yet. Which races those could be, we’ll decide based on what fits best in terms of planning and ambition. It also links to reconnaissance for the Tour, but that still has to take shape. Milan-San Remo won’t be it, but probably another WorldTour race. I just don’t know yet. But it’ll work out. Until then, there’s still some space.”

No Paris-Nice

Evenepoel will almost certainly not ride Paris-Nice. The new Head of Sport Zak Dempster doesn’t believe in that plan. “If you look at the hardest WorldTour races, you end up with Paris-Nice, the Tour of Catalonia, and the Critérium du Dauphiné. Those races burn the most kilojoules. That’s why I find the Paris-Nice and Catalonia combination very risky. With the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in mind, we might keep early March free. That way, we get Remco relatively fresh through the season.

Currently, both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico are not on his program. And no, not Strade Bianche either (laughs, ed.). We’re still waiting on the routes, but I don’t rule out adding an extra race at the end of February. But the focus is on Amstel and Liège, and it’s not the plan to ride the Flèche Wallonne either. If you see how strong he was at the recent Amstel – let’s say at 95% of his ability – there’s much more possible there. That’s why he needs to start in top form. Towards Liège, recovery is the most important, and the Flèche Wallonne simply doesn’t fit in.”

You’re sharing leadership in the Tour for the first time, with Florian Lipowitz. How do you feel about that dynamic?
“We both finished third in the last two editions. That means there’s room to do better. It’s always better to have two leaders. That makes tactics easier for the rest of the team. One of us will have a bad day at some point, and then we have to adapt. I’m open to trying the two-leader strategy and seeing how it goes. Hopefully, everything will go well.

Florian has ridden strongly in many races, not just the Tour. He’s really developing. Ultimately, having two strong leaders gives you a better chance of winning a stage. Florian is also a good time trialist, so he’ll shine in the team time trial too. Anyway, the upcoming Tour route is very special. In fact, it’s a beautiful Tour to go to with two leaders.”

To what extent has that World Championship on the other side of the world influenced your 2026 planning?
“It’s a fact that doing the Giro and the Tour is already a lot in a short time. And one and a half months after the Tour is the World Championships in Canada. That’s probably the biggest reason why there won’t be crazy things next season. The Montréal course is very nice. There are two great opportunities for me, both in the time trial and the road race. I want to be strong there. Ultimately, the team’s ambition is also to win as many jerseys and championships as possible. So that World Championship definitely played a role.”

When you consider everything: what was the biggest discussion point in putting together your program?
“Discussion is a big word; it was more talks. Ultimately, whether or not to ride the Giro was the biggest issue. I’m a fan of the route with that time trial. On paper, it’s not the toughest Giro ever. There are definitely hard stages, but it’s not the monster Giro it has sometimes been. For me, it was a nice opportunity to go. But I understand the team’s thinking to first have a normal season again, without problems and to make progress. Don’t forget I missed five to six months last year due to that crash with the bPost van in December.”

What changes have you already noticed at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe compared to your previous team Soudal-Quick-Step?
“It’s much more international here; that’s totally different. Also, this first training camp is quite serious. The training sessions are already quite intense. The scales are ready next to the food. It’s not a Suitopia buffet (the hotel in Calpe where Quick-Step usually stays, ed.) like before. It’s really food from the chefs where we have to weigh portions. That’s motivating, I have to say. They take it very seriously here. There have already been many meetings and planning discussions. So I can’t complain and I’m happy with how things are going now.”

Lipowitz and Evenepoel speak to the press together - photo: ©️ Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe | Maximilian Fries