Quick Step benefits from Tour route after Evenepoel’s departure, Red Bull rider still unsure of Tour start spot

On paper, Evenepoel has nothing to complain about with the Tour route for next year. The race starts with a team time trial, there is another individual race against the clock, the real mountains only come at the end of the second week, and a crazy first week full of dangerous finishes like in 2025 also seems out of the question.

Nevertheless, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe did not provide any clarity when it sent out a message on Thursday, after the route was presented. “We will now wait for the routes of the other grand tours before finalizing the season plans for the leaders,” was all that Zak Dempster, the new Chief of Sports at Red Bull in 2026, said.

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe has a lot to choose from when it comes to GC contenders, especially now that Evenepoel is joining the team. The Belgian joins a team that includes Florian Lipowitz (third in the Tour + young rider jersey), Jai Hindley (fourth in the Vuelta), Giulio Pellizzari (sixth in the Giro), and the more experienced Primoz Roglic and Daniel Felipe Martínez.

“We are, of course, looking at the Tour route with the GC in mind. Many stages suit our style of racing and that play to the strengths of many of our riders,” said Dempster. However, clarity is still some way off. Normally, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España will announce their 2026 routes later this year.

In Belgium, they seem to understand Evenepoel's possible choice of a race other than the Tour, should it come to that. At Sporza, the presenter and Tour specialist was not necessarily enthusiastic about his compatriot. “The individual time trial is the first stage of the final week. Everyone is already well into the race by then. If you're in the yellow jersey—I'm thinking of Pogacar—you don't leave much to chance.”

And will Evenepoel make the difference on the famous Alpine climbs in a grueling final weekend? “I wonder if that last stage will make any difference. I suspect that the yellow jersey will control the race and that it will be clear to everyone else who the strongest man in the race is.”

And at Soudal-Quick Step? After Evenepoel's departure, they seem to have plenty of opportunity to go all out in the Tour. No longer a big leader, but fighting for stage wins, predicted CEO Jurgen Foré at HLN. “It will be a Tour for the strong sprinters, because the course is challenging. There's the start, and the second week is also tough. In between, there are the sprint stages.”

Unlike in 2025, the adventurers will also be able to enjoy themselves with many transition stages. “With Jasper Stuyven and Dylan van Baarle, we have strong riders who could do well in the transition stages, and Ilan Van Wilder, Mikel Landa, Junior Lecerf, Steff Cras, and Valentin Paret-Peintre can hold their own in the mountains.”