Remco Evenepoel provided explanations about his season plan during the press conference in Mallorca. The newly signed rider for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe has chosen a season featuring only the Tour de France and will therefore—notwithstanding some rumors—not participate in the Tour of Flanders or the Giro d'Italia. "Whether or not to do the Giro was the hardest decision for me," he reveals.
Evenepoel describes his 2026 season as 'a normal season,' focusing on a schedule that includes the Tour of Catalonia, the Ardennes classics, the Tour de France, and the World Championships in Canada. "It's a new team and a new environment for me, so this year let's try to just go through a normal season," he says. "We'll see how it goes later. We've discussed and talked a lot about it, but this year it's important to get back to form with a normal winter. Last year I missed five or six months due to a crash, so this year I just want a normal season without problems."
"Whether or not to do the Giro was definitely the main point to discuss. I'm a big fan of the parcours; it's not a monster Giro like we've seen before. Of course, there are tough stages, but it’s not the hardest Grand Tour we’ve seen so far. The World Championships coming up in Canada are also very important to me—it’s a great chance for a jersey and, because it’s so far away, it might also be the biggest reason for me not to do anything crazy.""
There is still a question mark over Evenepoel’s schedule between the Tour of Valencia (February 4) and the Tour of Catalonia (March 23). There are over six weeks between the end of Valencia and the start of Catalonia, which Evenepoel intends to use for an extended altitude training camp and to explore various stages of the Tour de France. "But we still need to figure out how and what’s best for the schedule. There are two or three WorldTour races in between (UAE Tour, Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, etc.) and I’d like to race at least one of them."
Lastly, Evenepoel reflects on his first weeks with the team and looks ahead to the shared leadership with Florian Lipowitz at the Tour de France. The Belgian observes that the approach to racing is “very professional.” "There’s no buffet breakfast here. The scale is immediately brought out alongside the food from the chefs. Those are motivating factors. And about the co-leadership with Lipowitz: having two strong leaders increases the chances of winning stages. He’s someone who is developing, and I think it’s always better to have two leaders on this kind of parcours," he concludes.
Remco Evenepoel| Race | Date |
|---|---|
 Trofeo Ses Salines | 29 Jan |
| Volta Comunitat Valenciana | 4 Feb - 8 Feb |
| Volta Ciclista a Catalunya | 23 Mar - 29 Mar |
 Amstel Gold Race | 19 Apr |
| Liège-Bastogne-Liège | 26 Apr |
 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes | 7 Jun - 14 Jun |
| Tour de France | 4 Jul - 26 Jul |
 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec | 11 Sep |
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal | 13 Sep |
| UCI World Championship Montréal TT | 20 Sep |
| UCI World Championship Montréal | 27 Sep |
