Red Bull boss piles pressure on Remco Evenepoel's 2027 season: 'We have to be ready to capitalise on weakness shown by Tadej'

During his first year with a German team, Evenepoel won the Amstel Gold Race, the Clásica de San Sebastián, and the GP Québec, among other races. In the Tour de France, he also won two stages and finished second overall. This propelled him to second place in the UCI rankings, and his points catapulted Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe from sixth to second place in the team standings.

"I have enormous respect for what Remco has achieved with us in 2026," Denk told Domestique. “Also for his dedication to the team and his attitude. He’s a true champion. He’s very consistent. He won as early as January, had a strong classics season, got back in shape for the Tour, and was still in top form in the fall. That’s difficult and not something every rider can pull off. But Remco pulled it off.”

It was a long and tough spring for Evenepoel, with mixed results. After winning the Amstel Gold Race and finishing third in the Tour of Flanders, but with little success in stage races, he decided to take a two-month break leading up to the Tour de France. Judging by his performance there, that decision paid off.

"He worked incredibly hard for the Tour," said his German team manager. "I'm no sports scientist, but I can look at his TrainingPeaks data and see just how much work he put in. It was impressive, both on and off the bike. That shows he's highly motivated and driven. We need athletes like Remco in modern cycling.”

Evenepoel wasn’t the only one who impressed for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. “We’re satisfied with our 2026 season and with what we’ve achieved,” says Denk. “We had three different riders on the podium in the three Grand Tours: Jai Hindley in the Giro, Remco in the Tour, and Primož Roglič in the Vuelta. That’s pretty cool and shows the strength of the team and the coaching staff.”

Progress has also been made outside the Grand Tours. “There are four major championships in cycling, and we’ve won three of them: Remco claimed the world time trial title and the European road title, and Primož Roglič also won the European time trial title. That’s great.”

These are amazing achievements, but Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe doesn’t settle for being the second-best team in the world—especially with its major sponsors and massive budget. “We always aim for the top. At Red Bull, they hate to lose. Red Bull is highly competitive and driven. They want to win in every sport they compete in.”

And so all eyes are immediately on the Tour de France, where the yellow jersey must eventually be won. To do that, they’ll have to beat Tadej Pogačar. “That’s the goal for the mid-season races, but we all know how unique Tadej is. We know our riders’ performance metrics, and we can crunch the numbers for Tadej. There’s still a difference.”

And so, really, we’re hoping for an end to Slovenian dominance. “The question is whether Tadej is still performing at his peak and whether he’ll always maintain that level. No one knows. That’s why I always advise my team: we have to be ready to capitalise on any weakness shown by Tadej and UAE.”