"You see an example exactly with UAE": Fisher-Black says 'alien' Evenepoel is boosting team spirit at Red Bull

Due to the dynamics within Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, there are doubts about Evenepoel's transfer. “In terms of timing, this is not the best moment for a transfer to Red Bull: Florian Lipowitz's breakthrough makes everything more complex,” said Jan Bakelants. “Two months ago, you would have thought that Remco would be the absolute leader, but now he will have to fight for his place. How do you distinguish between the two? I am still convinced that an Evenepoel in top form is a better rider than Lipowitz, but does everyone see it that way?”

“There is also Primoz Roglic,” the Belgian analyst pointed out, the next potential problem. "Is there still a role for him? And if so, what? Roglic always does what he wants and hasn't ridden for anyone else much in his career. Then there's Giulio Pellizzari. The Italian is only 21, but he finished an impressive sixth in the Giro. You have to give that guy a chance to develop. Sports manager Sven Vanthourenhout will have a lot of work to do to get everyone on the same page.“

Problems or not, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe is certainly very happy with the arrival of Evenepoel. ”I'm excited," said Finn Fisher-Black to Domestique, for example. “I’ve ridden with guys of that calibre in the past, like Tadej [Pogačar], and Remco is another of these aliens. I’m excited to have him on the team. Someone like this brings the spirit of the team up, but that’s next year, and we’ll look to the rest of this year now.”

“I think the thing is, when you have a winning environment, it changes the whole feeling in the team. It kind of brings everyone up,” the 23-year-old New Zealander continued. “So having one of these really incredible riders in the team, naturally, it brings the whole team forward. It makes the whole team a bit more professional. If everyone is in good spirits, then the team is working well.”

Fisher-Black cites an example of this, namely the team he rode for last year. “You see an example exactly with UAE, they have almost every rider winning races. So I’m excited to see what it can do for the whole team. Remco is one rider, but he can bring this feeling to the team that can make it get some more success in other places.”

Daniel Felipe Martinez was also enthusiastic about his new teammate. “It’s another chapter that opens, so I’m pleased he’s here. For sure, with him in the team, we’ve got a very strong squad all round. He’s a massively important rider and for sure he’ll bring a lot to the team. That’s the thing, he’s coming to the team,” said the Colombian.