Bruyneel: “No matter which team Remco Evenepoel rides for, he’ll never win the Tour against Pogacar and Vingegaard!"

The former rider and ex-team manager analyzes Evenepoel’s transfer on his THEMOVE podcast. “It was no secret that Remco wanted to leave. And I really do think this is a good move for him as well. This is the fresh start and new environment he needed. If he wanted to make another leap forward, he had to change teams.”

Bruyneel believes that his new squad simply has more firepower. “Let’s be clear, Soudal Quick-Step fulfilled 95% of his wishes. But the initiative always had to come from him. That’s where things will be different at Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe. They have the infrastructure, the staff, and the money to do the thinking for him.”

Remco Evenepoel clearly has the ambition to one day win the Tour de France. But according to Johan Bruyneel, he would be wise not to aim too high. “No matter which team Remco rides for, he’s never going to beat Tadej or Jonas (Pogacar and Vingegaard, ed.) in the Tour. It’s that simple. Honestly, he should just take the Tour out of the equation.”

“It’s a different story if Pogacar ever decides to skip the race,” Bruyneel adds, “but Remco has never really come close to Vingegaard, not even last year when Jonas wasn’t at 100%.” Still, he emphasizes that this isn't a dig at Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe. “Look, Pogacar and Vingegaard aren’t going anywhere. They’ll stay with UAE Team Emirates and Visma | Lease a Bike for the foreseeable future.”

“Behind those two, you’ve got a group of top riders and Remco is absolutely in that group. Let’s not forget he was third in the Tour last year, he’s already won the Vuelta, he’s a multiple-time world and Olympic champion… Of that caliber, he was the only rider on the market,” he believes. “Plus, Primoz Roglic is nearing the end of his career, and Florian Lipowitz still has to prove himself. So in that sense, it makes perfect sense for Red Bull to sign Evenepoel.”

Even with other GC leaders on the squad, Bruyneel doesn’t see an issue. “If Tadej and Jonas are racing, you’re not the favorite anyway. So you don’t need to control the race and that means having two leaders isn’t a problem. You just let the road decide who’s better.”