Evenepoel keeps Red Bull busy after toilet break blunder, Lipowitz swipe and role in Vingegaard chase
CyclingThursday, 09 July 2026 at 19:51
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Follow us on GoogleRed Bull-BORA-hansgrohe will need to put their heads together after the sixth stage of the Tour de France. The team finished with both leaders, Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, among the better riders on the day, but there was plenty of frustration around Evenepoel. Chief of Sports Zak Dempster gave IDL Pro Cycling his view on the situation.
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There was not much anyone could do about Tadej Pogačar on Thursday, but behind the Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Evenepoel and Lipowitz were at least able to measure themselves against the rest. Jonas Vingegaard of Visma | Lease a Bike finished 19 seconds ahead of the group containing the two Red Bull leaders, but according to Dempster, that gap did not necessarily have to remain.
“It was not a bad day for us, in the first uphill test. The fact that Florian and Remco were in the group with Paul Seixas and the others was good. Although with slightly better cooperation in the valley, they could also have made it back to Vingegaard,” the Australian said honestly. Evenepoel, however, complained about a lack of cooperation in that group.
“If we had come back to Vingegaard, that would have been a victory for us. But we can be optimistic when you see how Florian climbed on the Tourmalet and how strong Remco was in the valley...” Evenepoel did most of the work in a group of six and, to make matters worse, was then beaten in the sprint for third place by Isaac del Toro, Pogačar’s UAE teammate.
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Remco Evenepoel was angry after Stage 6 of the Tour de France
Evenepoel kept Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe sweating for a while
Dempster did not comment on the missing lead-out in the sprint between Evenepoel and Del Toro, which the Belgian felt should have come from Lipowitz. That was where most of Evenepoel’s anger came from. Dempster, then, was more disappointed that Vingegaard had been handed another 19 seconds. “But the Tour finishes in Paris, right? Game on!” he said, combative and with a familiar racing cliché.
In any case, Evenepoel certainly kept Red Bull busy. In the early phase of the stage, the Belgian was briefly distanced after choosing a particularly bad moment to stop for a bathroom break. Several teammates had to chase for a long time to bring him back to the peloton, which was racing at full speed.
“I was not in the car, but Remco definitely created a bit of adventure there,” Dempster said. He could laugh about it, because everything turned out fine. And when Evenepoel appeared to be struggling on the Tourmalet while Lipowitz was able to stay with the first chasing riders, the situation also came back under control. “To me, it looked like Remco stayed a little within his limit on the Tourmalet and the others went deeper.”
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Florian Lipowitz
Evenepoel impresses Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
“You pay in minutes if you go into the red on a climb like that. Remco used to do that quite often,” said Dempster, who saw an excellent team leader emerge after the Tourmalet thanks to Evenepoel’s strong self-management. “After the Tourmalet, Remco was still very strong, and if the others had done a little more, or had been able to do a little more...”
“I cannot look inside their legs. I think it was possible to bring Vingegaard back. But now we are looking at it stage by stage. In the third week, there are still some very hard stages to come, and then everything can change. Pogačar? Anyone with a Eurosport subscription will no longer be surprised by what Tadej does. He makes cycling look fun. In my day, it certainly was not like that for me.”
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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'.
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Latest Comments
- - 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
- - Two seconds on a 200m kick says it all. Vingegaard looked glued, but not enough punch yet. Heat management + gels every 30 minutes clearly dialed.andrewf06-07-2026
- - What a statement from Pog! Del Toro’s launch was textbook. You could see UAE-XRG had zero interest in gifting the break any hope today.jennifer1906-07-2026
- - ¿Habrá abanicos con ese viento noroeste? Si se parte el pelotón en los llanos antes de Quillan, adiós a muchos sprinters.patriciaw06-07-2026
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