Jens Voigt thinks Lipowitz has best chance at Giro d'Italia 2027: 'The next logical step would be to win'

Evenepoel and Lipowitz started as team leaders in the Tour de France, but it was the Belgian who proved to be the stronger rider. After two weeks, he had built up a comfortable lead over his teammate, who then broke his collarbone.

Evenepoel went on to claim two stage wins and was crowned “best of the rest ” behind Pogačar. “We’ve turned Remco into the best Evenepoel of all time, both in terms of results and data,” says Denk. “That’s a huge compliment for our performance team.”

On his team’s website, the team director of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe looks back on the 2026 cycling season, in which the team finished second in the world rankings. “We were on the podium in every Grand Tour with different riders. We won three of the four international championships. No one else can say that,” said the German.

In short: it was a phenomenal year. “We’re very pleased with the season. It was a year in which we excelled in many areas. Ultimately, sports are all about results. And Red Bull – Bora – hansgrohe delivered those results all year long. The statistics speak for themselves: the best season in the team’s history.”

Someone who wasn’t quite as lucky was Lipowitz. He started the year strong, with a third-place finish in the Tour of Catalonia and second-place finishes in the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour de Romandie. Then he withdrew from the Tour de France, just as his form was slipping. And for the upcoming Tour, which features two long time trials, Evenepoel will likely be given the nod. Voigt thinks it will be tough for his fellow German.

"Before his crash in the Tour de France, he definitely still had a shot at a podium finish," he tells Sport1. "But the competition isn't standing still. Pogačar is making a comeback. Vingegaard, of course. And then there are Isaac Del Toro and Paul Seixas, two incredibly promising young riders. That doesn’t make it any easier. A podium finish in the Tour will be harder than it should be for the team in the coming years, regardless of the lineup.”

And so Voigt suggests that Lipowitz might have to switch to the Giro d'Italia. Because Pogačar doesn't normally compete there. “If Pogačar wants to ride the Tour de France—perhaps because of his sponsor or potential records—then that’s a done deal for him. If he also wants to win the Vuelta a España to round out that achievement, then the Giro d’Italia might just disappear from his schedule.”

After all, winning a Grand Tour must be the next step for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. “In the Tour de France, barring unforeseen circumstances, they expect to be competing only for second place behind Pogačar. Lipowitz has already shown that he can finish on the podium in the Tour. The next logical step would be to win a Grand Tour himself. The Giro d’Italia may offer the best conditions for that.”

Could Lipowitz do that? It won’t be easy, Voigt knows. “Finishing third in the Tour de France is, as I said, a tremendous achievement. Still, he finished eleven minutes behind Pogačar. Eleven minutes is a world of difference in professional cycling. Looking ahead three weeks, he’s still missing something. That’s why I think he has a better chance of winning the Giro or the Vuelta than the Tour. But: His chances aren’t getting any better.”

Of course, nothing has been decided yet about the upcoming season. It’s also possible that Red Bull will once again field two team leaders for the Tour. But Voigt hopes that Lipowitz will ride the Giro. “Does he believe he can win the Tour de France? And does he believe he can win the Giro? If the answer to the first question is no and to the second is yes, then the decision has essentially already been made.”