"Down to the last millimeter" - Remco Evenepoel and Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe seek control and no racing before Tour de France
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel's team have preached faith and confidence in their Tour de France preparations as Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe seek to deliver the former world champion to the Barcelona Grand Depart in the best shape and as relaxed as possible.
Control is fast becoming the key for the German team. With Evenepoel initially planned to compete in next month's Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but ultimately opted to skip the race. Evenepoel himself has been at altitude in Sierra Nevada having not raced since in over a month after his third place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Finishing in third place at the 2024 Tour de France, the Belgian arrived at last year's edition after an injury-disrupted winter affecting his ability to repeat the performances that sealed him as the definitive next-best behind Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar the summer before.
Now part of Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe, both rider and team have opted for a patient and training-focused approach compared to the traditional preparation for July in France. At the core of it all, team sports director Patxi Vila believes the 26-year-old has already proven he can show up at big races sharp even without a warm-up race.
"In recent months, we've seen that Remco can reach a very high level without necessarily participating in preparatory races ," Vila said in an interview with La Dernière Heure. "We preferred to focus directly on the Tour, and we believe in this plan. This should allow him to arrive in Barcelona more relaxed and in better shape."
Read also
Evenepoel being prepared "to the last millimeter"
The specific approach has allowed them to tailor their approach to the last 'millimeter' with total focus on the Tour. "You never know how things will go, whether he'll be very fast or more relaxed. We want to maintain control of the workload, the motivation, the progress, and the schedule. We want to prepare him down to the last millimeter for the Tour."
Insinuating that Evenepoel is yet to reach the pinnacle of his form in training that comes with higher intensity and targeted sessions - Vila insisted that a house can't be built without its foundations.
The Sports Director highlighted "the foundations of the house, before more specific work in the coming weeks" as he indicated that the Belgian will focus on higher intensity training in the weeks before the Tour.
Read also
This year's Tour de France is already set to be one of the most exciting in recent years. With Florain Lipowitz also preparing for a general classification bid, Evenepoel knows that Pogacar and Vingegaard are the definitive top two to beat. But they're not alone after Paul Seixas confirmed his participation after the teenage sensation enjoyed an impressive opening to the season.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
- Martinez had a good year! 5th at the Tour was a great result for him, albeit largely through getting in successful breaks, but he held it better than Pidcock who’d done the same.Lozza14-11-2026
- guess what Valgren, you're 34, and no you're not good enough. sorry to say.mij14-11-2026
- I'm a sepp fan and like to think he earned that LOL, indulge me : ) I think Jonas was fine. Roglic did not want to concede to Sepp. and I don't think you ever attack your own teammate in the leaders jersey if he is holding his own, which Sepp just about was.mij14-11-2026
- enough time? he's 24 years old. He's won 10 races over the last 2 years and some are significant. I won't argue about his attitude being good - it needs to improve. But with some coaching and mentorship he has a lot of winning ahead of him and has plenty of time to win a GT. I don't think he will ever beat Tadej, but everyone else is fair game Look at Mas and Valverde - they were 31 and 29, respectively, when they won the Vuelta.mij14-11-2026
- Pogacar has a fine head on his shoulders.Careful investments and a couple of coffee shops sounds like a wonderful way to chill after an intense career.Stay healthy GOAT.
Brucegel14-11-2026 - I live in Maribor.PogiSloFans14-11-2026
Loading
2 Comments