Evenepoel's Tour de France 2nd place has Red Bull hungry for more: 'That’s what I mean by exciting cycling'
CyclingMonday, 27 July 2026 at 21:44
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Follow us on GoogleRed Bull-BORA-hansgrohe signed Remco Evenepoel last winter to inject the team with fresh Grand Tour talent. Although there were some doubts this spring about the Belgian’s ability to handle the three-week grind, he proved the naysayers wrong over the past month. And that has got team manager Ralph Denk dreaming (realistically): “I still want to win the Tour de France.”
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The mustachioed German has taken another step closer to the top spot in Paris. Wilco Kelderman and Aleksandr Vlasov have both finished fifth before, Emanuel Buchmann came in fourth in 2019, and last year Florian Lipowitz finished third in the Tour de France. Evenepoel’s second-place finish marks a new milestone for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
Denk is incredibly proud of Evenepoel. “He’s worked so hard for this—for this success. This is another step forward. Two years ago, he already finished third, but now, in addition to his second-place finish, he’s also won his first road stage here.”
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Read more below the photo!
Remco Evenepoel on the Tour de France podium.
Denk dreams of a Tour de France Victory with Red Bull
Evenepoel will race the Clásica de San Sebastián on Saturday. After that, we’ll take some time to analyse everything calmly. "Of course, the World Championships are still coming up, as is another Monument... " Denk says, referring to the Tour of Lombardy. "We still have a few great goals this season, but so far I can tell you: as a team, we’re absolutely thrilled with this."
"After that, we'll analyse the situation and also talk to Remco: how does he see it himself, and what are his ideas for the future? In any case, this is the best result in the general classification of his career so far, and with us. We can all be very proud of that together,” said the team manager of the German squad.
In any case, the team spirit at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe was strong— as Evenepoel also pointed out. “The entire team has once again shown—especially in the penultimate stage—that we’re not content with what we’ve already achieved, but have the drive to win. That’s what I mean by exciting cycling.”
Denk isn't satisfied yet—quite the opposite, in fact. "It's my dream to one day cross the finish line in Paris wearing the yellow jersey. The Grand Tours are definitely the races we want to keep focusing on," the German assures us.
"It's still a little too early to analyse everything. Fortunately, in modern cycling, we have plenty of data analysts who will dig deeper into it," he laughed after Saturday's stage. "We finished second here, but the gap to the leader is still big. I’m not going to go around saying we’re going to beat Pogačar next year, but we’re going to work on it."
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- - Jorgenson looked poorly mid-race and still animated the third week — if Visma don’t give him real freedom at the Vuelta, what’s the point? Also, is Riccitello really behind Seixas on Decathlon’s depth chart or is that just French media hype? Porque si Riccitello tiene la oportunidad, puede ganar una etapa, fácil.jennifer1927-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “pressure got to Kuss” angle. He’s won at La Vuelta, at the Giro this year, and on big alpine days before. Those were slippery roads and he was pushing the limits. That’s bike racing, not nerves.lindae27-07-2026
- - Simmons did his job for Mads, fair play, but three weeks of torching breakaways for green and zero personal shots feels off. If Lidl-Trek want jerseys, fine — give Quinn one protected day at least. The guy showed winning form at Nationals.julien27-07-2026
- - Quick question: why doesn’t the team time trial count as ending the drought? If Kuss rode it and Visma won, isn’t that still an American winning a Tour stage?gearguru3327-07-2026
- - Brutal for Kuss on Alpe d’Huez. He had the legs, the gap, then two slips in quick succession… you could see the switch flip when Carapaz came past. “Well and alive” is peak Sepp, but that one will sting all winter.pedalpowe2927-07-2026
- - This article leans a touch too much into Plugge’s framing. Where’s the ITA’s explanation on why those specific hours? Without that, it reads like Visma PR. Still, good reporting on the AIGCP angle.lindae27-07-2026
- - Totally agree that the optics are bad, but come on—anti-doping is supposed to be intrusive. Pogačar at 5 a.m. and Vinge at 2 a.m. is messy, yet I’d rather see over-testing than another FestinaJust standardise the timing window, UCI/ITA.samanthak27-07-2026
- - I’m a bit confused—if the ITA told Visma it wasn’t suspicion-based, why did a judge need to approve it? Does that mean there actually was “serious and consistent suspicion,” or is that just legal procedure in France?cadencekingm27-07-2026
- - Great piece. Plugge’s point about consistency is spot on—either test the whole GC top 10 the same night or don’t do night tests at all. Waking Jonas at 2 a.m. before Solaison feels like it could actually impact performance.cyclechamp4527-07-2026
- - Qué final, mon dieu! Van der Poel incroyable, pero también Pogacar con sonrisa de amarillo. Two giants making history.lindae27-07-2026
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