Will Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe face a Contador–Armstrong-style leadership dilemma? ‘Lipowitz and Evenepoel both want to win the Tour’

The Slovenian has already won the Tour four times and, especially in the last two editions, has been exponentially stronger than his rivals. Evenepoel has fallen short each time, and although Florian Lipowitz has shown promise, it’s still hard to say whether he can actually win the Tour. But Alberto Contador doesn’t rule out a Tour victory for Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe — provided they play their cards right.

Contador points to the team’s manpower on paper: “With Roglič, Lipowitz — who was third in the Tour last year — Hindley, Vlasov … and the team has the right people to help Remco improve on long climbs,” he told Sporza. “He made the right decision.”

So far, the Belgian star hasn’t proven he can beat Pogačar — or Jonas Vingegaard — over three weeks. That raises questions, Contador suggests: can Evenepoel consistently stay at the top in a Grand Tour with multiple challenging mountain stages?

Contador has experience dealing with dual leaders — though circumstances differ from his own time riding with a teammate alongside Lance Armstrong. “Roglič, Lipowitz and Remco all want to win the Tour. All three have already stood on the podium,” he noted, underscoring the leverage that numbers can give a team.

Astana’s approach in 2009 — a classic case of co-leadership — isn’t exactly what Contador recommends. Instead, Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe should look at how Vingegaard won his first Tour. “They need to play with their options. Roglič can take risks, Remco and Lipowitz can follow wheels. But if they lose time early, they can switch tactics,” he said.

Contador is honest about the challenge: with the Pogačar of recent years, success is extremely difficult. “If you want to beat him, you need to use your possibilities smartly. If there was a 200-kilometer time trial, it would be a different case. But otherwise, it’s tough to beat Tadej when he’s at his level.”