Evenepoel and Lipowitz clear the air after Tour de France tension: ‘Remco could be Dutch’
CyclingFriday, 10 July 2026 at 18:35
Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google
Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.
Follow us on GoogleTim van Dijke stressed to IDL Pro Cycling on Friday that the tension between his Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe leaders Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz has been resolved. Evenepoel had some sharp words for his German teammate after Stage 6, but both the Belgian and Van Dijke said before the start of Stage 7 that the matter had been settled.
ADVERTISEMENT
Evenepoel had been far from happy after finishing fourth on Stage 6. “I had asked for a lead-out, and I didn’t get one. Yes, I was angry, and rightly so. At the Volta a Catalunya, I rode on the front for him for 30 kilometres. I asked him to do one kilometre of work on the front and that didn’t happen. That made me angry, and it needed to be properly discussed that evening,” he said to Lipowitz.
While Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe sports director Zak Dempster focused primarily on other concerns from the stage, CEO Ralph Denk had already attempted to calm the situation in the team’s podcast. “There was a bit of disagreement, a language barrier, but also in the heat of the moment. It was no big deal,” Denk said. He added that the two riders had already spoken about the incident and had been laughing together over dinner.
“Everything has been cleared up,” Evenepoel also emphasised during a group interview with NOS and VTM. “It was something that happened during the race, and we talked about it. Now we can move forward. It is all in the past.” Dempster added beside the team bus: “Remco wears his heart on his sleeve and he was frustrated. That is part of racing. For me, the most important thing is how they resolve it internally.”
Continue reading below the video
Tim van Dijke finding his form at the Tour de France
With the situation apparently settled, IDL Pro Cycling headed to the mixed zone to speak with Van Dijke. The 26-year-old twin brother of Mick Van Dijke, who rode this year’s Giro d’Italia, has not featured prominently during the opening stages of the Tour, but he believes his form is moving in the right direction. “It is going well,” Van Dijke said. “Yesterday, on Stage 6, I had my best day on the bike of this Tour. That shows things are improving.”
That was encouraging news after Van Dijke had been among the first Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe riders to be dropped during the opening team time trial in Barcelona. According to the Dutchman, however, that was not necessarily a sign that his legs were poor. “It wasn’t that bad, although I had hoped to stay with them for longer,” he explained. “The margins are so fine in a team time trial. I had just completed a big turn on the front, and when I slotted back into the line, they accelerated hard over a small rise.”
Van Dijke then watched his teammates disappear up the road, even though he felt he might have been able to remain with them had he not just finished his turn. “What I did was good, but it was frustrating to be dropped like that,” he said. “I struggled with the extreme heat during the first few days, although I was still able to do my work properly.”
Continue reading below the photo
Remco Evenepoel eventually finished the team time trial alone.
Evenepoel–Lipowitz tension quickly defused at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
On Stage 6, which crossed both the Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet, Van Dijke watched Evenepoel and Lipowitz produce encouraging performances. Nevertheless, most of the post-stage attention centred on the Belgian’s comments about his teammate. “Everything had actually been going really well until something happened yesterday,” Van Dijke said. “But the two of them spoke about it. The last thing we need is an argument inside the team.”
According to Van Dijke, the disagreement was resolved quickly and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe did not feel the need to turn it into a larger internal issue. “Remco is simply very direct, and sometimes that comes across quite strongly. That happened yesterday,” Van Dijke said with a smile. “In that respect, he could easily be Dutch.”
Strip away the post-stage comments and focus on Thursday’s racing, and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe had reason to be satisfied. Both of its general-classification leaders were among the first chasing riders behind Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. “I saw an incredibly strong Lipowitz on the climbs, and Remco rode very intelligently,” Van Dijke said. “It was good that he could finish the Tourmalet with a positive feeling.
“Not much has changed for us. Tadej is simply the best rider in the world right now, perhaps even the best ever. You cannot match that. We have to continue giving everything and then hopefully finish on the podium in Paris.”
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
IDL-productions
2026 Tour de France stage 8 preview | Kooij and Merlier face a more technical sprint in Bergerac
Huub Artz clears up Tour de France riding-position controversy after jury confusion
2026 Tour de France stage 7 preview | Heavy legs, royal sprinting in Bordeaux
Reef points to smarter UAE, not just Pogačar, in Tour battle against Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike
Evenepoel keeps Red Bull busy after toilet break blunder, Lipowitz swipe and role in Vingegaard chase
Latest Cycling News
2026 Tour de France Standings | Important days for the green jersey
2026 Tour de France stage 8 preview | Kooij and Merlier face a more technical sprint in Bergerac
Relief at Visma | Lease a Bike after Tour de France ‘rest day in all but name’: ‘That’s exactly what we did’
Mads Pedersen protects Tour de France green jersey in Bordeaux sprint: ‘Not my cup of tea’
2026 Tour de France fines & penalties | Alpecin-Premier Tech hit with two Stage 7 fines
Popular Cycling News
Pidcock made no bones about the conditions on stage 3: 'We must have gone through 10,000 bidons today'
2026 Tour de France fines & penalties | Alpecin-Premier Tech hit with two Stage 7 fines
Tom Dumoulin offers spot-on analysis after doping question is raised around Tadej Pogačar’s dominance
2026 Tour de France Standings | Important days for the green jersey
Tour de France Route 2026 | Two in a row for the fast guys, plus an entertaining Sunday
Latest Comments
- No teammates on the Tourmalet. Too fast up the Tourmalet.
merganzer10-07-2026 - Reef is whistling past the graveyard by denying what was plain to see: Tadej crushed Jonas, beating him in the ascent and, even more decisively on the descent, where most of the gap was created. In the world of reality, rather than the fantsay that Reef related, Jonas will not become a better descender between now and Paris, and Tadej won't get less adept at the skill. Moreover, it wasn't only about the mano y mono, between the two Tour leaders, but the unraveling of Visma, and the dominance of UAE, especially IDT. Barring injury or some other anomalous occurrence, we'll look back at Tadej's win on stage six as the day he won the 2026 TDF.rjb10-07-2026
- Remco continues alternating between Dr. Jekyl and, as he did today post-race, Mr. Hyde, lashing out as others for not racing according to his preferences. This isn't the first time he's complained about opponents' tactics, but it's the first time I've heard him do it to a teammate, and that lack of discretion and team loyalty may come back to haunt him. I though he'd outgrown these childish pouts; obviously, I was mistaken.rjb10-07-2026
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
Loading
