Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe is counting on Evenepoel and Lipowitz — and Hindley? — at the Tour de France

Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are searching for their their biggest challengers at the 2026 Tour de France. Based on the strength of the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team just announced, it could come in blue and white stripes. As expected, the German team is counting on the duo of Florian Lipowitz and Remco Evenepoel for the general classification and has built the entire squad around them. Jai Hindley has also been called up to add extra mountain support, making this one of the strongest teams at the Tour.

With Evenepoel’s arrival at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, the team’s ambitions for the future have been reinforced. The German team wants to win the Tour de France one day and hopes to get closer to that goal with the Belgian on the team. Lipowitz finished third last year in his Tour de France debut and took home the white jersey. The dual leadership should bring them success in July.

But the team’s strength lies in its depth. “The Tour is no longer a race won solely by one exceptional rider, but by an exceptional team,” explains team manager Zak Dempster on the team’s website. “With Remco and Florian, we have two leaders who have already proven they can stand on the Tour podium. Their different strengths give us tactical options that could prove decisive.”

Team manager Patxi Vila also emphasizes that the support riders will play a crucial role. “The strength of this roster goes far beyond Remco and Florian. We have experienced climbers, strong all-rounders and riders capable of taking responsibility in every race situation. Every Tour develops its own dynamic, and with this team we have an answer to almost every possible scenario."

The two team leaders prepared for the Tour in a surprisingly unconventional way. Evenepoel opted for a racing break of more than two months, after which he will arrive in Barcelona without having raced in the interim. Lipowitz rode the Tour of Slovenia, where, away from the spotlight, he won two stages and the overall classification.

The only spanner in the spokes of Red Bull's Tour de France wheel could be the news that Remco Evenepoel could face a nine day ban before the tour de France. A strange rule that is imposed by the Belgian National Federation may see Evenepoel unable to ride the Tour.

The Belgian federation requires every professional licensed in the country to ride the elite road championship. Skip it without a valid reason, and the rulebook calls for a nine-day suspension, race day included. Applied at once, it would mean Evenepoel would not be allowed to take part in the Grand Départ in Barcelona on July 4.

We wait to heart whether the federation will relent in this case, or whether Evenepoel will line up on Sunday at the Belgian National Championships to get around the ban. Or, probably less likely, whether Evenepoel will be banned before the 2026 Tour de France and unable to start in Barcelona. More to follow...