Remco Evenepoel Seems Set to Share Leadership at Upcoming Tour de France

It is not yet entirely clear whether Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe’s new team leader, Remco Evenepoel, will participate in next year’s Tour de France. The expectation is that the Belgian will play a prominent role within the German team’s Tour squad, but the team does not seem intent on positioning Evenepoel as the outright leader.

The star-studded team also includes Florian Lipowitz, who finished third in the last Tour de France. In an interview with Cyclingmagazine.de, the 25-year-old German was already clear about the 2026 Tour. "The Giro is not on the agenda," he stated firmly. "The Tour de France is the biggest race. Probably everyone wants to participate."

"I would like to take part in the Tour again next year, but a lot can still happen during preparation. You have to wait and see how the races go, but in principle, the Tour is definitely an option."

"I haven’t looked at the route in detail yet, only briefly skimmed it," Lipowitz added. "But it is definitely a challenging race. The Tour start is already very tough, but the last week is really extremely hard."

Remco Evenepoel will make the switch this winter to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, where he will become one of the main leaders. But will he also fulfill that role in the Tour de France? Chief of Sports Zakkari Dempster is not ready to decide on this yet.

This ambitious team also fields other recognized GC contenders such as Primoz Roglic, Jai Hindley, Giulio Pellizzari, and especially Florian Lipowitz.

"We are looking at the route with the general classification in mind," Dempster said on Sporza. "But there are also plenty of stages that fit our racing style and suit many of our riders." Whether we will see Evenepoel racing in France, Dempster leaves open for now. "We are currently waiting for the routes of the other Grand Tours before finalizing the season plans for our team leaders."