“Everything has been cleared up between Lipowitz and me" - Remco Evenepoel says Red Bull tensions put to bed as team respond to comments
CyclingFriday, 10 July 2026 at 14:30
Remco Evenepoel is a rider that often wears his heart on his sleeve, and is known for some strong words. Following stage 6 of the Tour de France, his comments on teammate Florian Lipowitz were far from positive, as he had hoped for more support in the arrival to Gavarnie. But the Olympic Champion assures that has been talked out and has been resolved overnight.
The stakes at the Tour are higher than ever and the Belgian rider had a strong day on the bike. On the Col du Tourmalet, Tadej Pogacar went up the road; whilst Jonas Vingegaard was in hot pursuit. Florian Lipowitz was behind, joined by Paul Seixas and Isaac del Toro. The trio were caught by Evenepoel's group on the descent.
But the collaboration in the newly-formed group was far from ideal. Despite having both Red Bull and Lidl-Trek men, alongside Frenchmen Seixas and Lenny Martínez, the group did not cohesively work together on the long but slight-gradient ascent to the finish were the gaps could've been reduced to the riders ahead. Pogacar won time on the climb, instead.
Evenepoel had a strong dash to the line and often took over the pace in the group, also looking to propel others into giving more of their abilities. This was not successful, but when Lipowitz did not do it on the Belgian's request, it hit a nerve.
Evenepoel had the legs, but not the support he wanted
“I asked for a lead-out and I didn’t get it. I think I was rightly angry," he had said in a post-race interview. "In the Vuelta a Catalunya, I rode on the front for thirty kilometers [for him], now I ask him to ride one kilometer on the front and that doesn’t happen. That did make me angry, yes. That needs to be discussed properly tonight.”
According to Evenepoel, at the start of stage 7, this has been resolved: “Everything has been cleared up between Lipowitz and me,” Evenepoel told VTM NIEUWS before the start of stage 7. “We looked back on it in a conversation with everyone, and now we have to move on. What happened yesterday is in the past. It was a snapshot of the race.”
Remco Evenepoel on stage 6 of the 2026 Tour de France
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Dempster explains discussion internal tension and the solution
“Remco was frustrated because he wanted to finish third. That Lipo didn't take over? He was leading before that, but when Remco wanted a lead-out, he couldn't get there," team chief of sports Zak Dempster said when asked about the situation. "It's about fractions of a second. That can happen. But we've had a debrief, and everything is okay again.”
Tensions, specially this early, at the Tour de France can lead to a disruption in the team's dynamics. As it stands, both Evenepoel and Lipowitz appear to have the legs to fight for the podium, a result both have achieved before. But their numerical superiority over most of their rivals provides them an advantage.
Tackling their own personal ambitions honestly is an important part of the current task at hand. "Remco wears his heart on his sleeve. In that 'heat of the moment'. Everyone is human. What is most important to me is how they are together now," Dempster assures. "And how they resolve that internally. That is a constant process of improvement. If you want to compete for top results, that is part of the game at this level."
Dempster confirms also that the team does not see the need to sacrifice one rider for the other, which would actually go against its own ambitions of featuring on the final podium in Paris.
“This was always the plan. This is a strong position to be in. Better two guys at the front than one getting dropped. Of course, it would be a good tactic to stay on Pogacar's wheel, but that doesn't always work. Two is better than one," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Tom, either say something or say nothing. Why naïve if there’s nothing worth thinking through? Why a comparison to Messi which is about skill and not performances Even if Tadej is unlikely to be a protagonist in unfairness, I certainly do not trust his entourage as much. Doping in whatever form is a technical definition, many other unfair advantages cannot be classified as such and would be impossible to prove without being mistakenly revealed. I do not want to list any for fear of giving ideas (very little open discussion exists on potential methods) but having followed Mauro’s case in detail, I know how far some are willing to go, also to conceal what they want to hide.Jumpyjohn10-07-2026
- That's a bit of an extreme comment. He was tired and frustrated but looked fine at todays start. He was smiling and shook hands with Pogacar, Del Tora and Pederson at the start. Retire out of the tour? I doubt it. I can see him retiring completely soon though. He has won every grand tour and has nothing more to prove.Cyclingsbestfan10-07-2026
- Yes they did! It became monotonous and boring to watch and many comments were made on Indurains style of winning. Pogacars style is more dynamique. That said Pogacar potentially putting the race to bed so early has taken out a lot of the excitement for me. I would bet a lot of people feel the same.Cyclingsbestfan10-07-2026
- Agreed, don’t get the feeling Jonas is the type to give up. He may have been knackered but he recovers well too.Jumpyjohn10-07-2026
- Choose your words more carefully. For sure they are able, if the circumstances called for it they’d even be able to reel in the Pog. No lone rider is going to outrun a team time trialing. It’s the context that decided, 2 riders as saboteurs, 2 with zero interest in helping, one almost self-destructive and a few without a clear plan or incentive, that’s hardly a recipe for chasing. We saw a similar situation in spring when MVDP made the mistake of going with Pog on the climb instead of hanging back with the rest and working together to reel him in after the climb.Jumpyjohn10-07-2026
- Just because you used to be mentally insecure does not mean others are too , Wigansabstractengineer10-07-2026
- Utter tosh.... you have 21 days racing, one aspect is GC, the other aspects are all still there, stage winners, points wins mountains wins... every element brings a spectacle... if you want to look for it! A Tour decided in a single day - every tour has one decisive day, the baseline of every GC win comes on the back of one specific dayslappers6610-07-2026
- My dear Tour de France fans and Javier Ares, I have one question for you when you wake up in 2 hours and read my question: "Did you get enough sleep and how did you digest today's lunch." I will ask all of you the same question tomorrow. Bon appetit. Let's remember the celebration of Visma and Vingegaard after the TTT?🤣🤣🤣 It feels like 3 years ago, it all seems so far away, fake confidence... everything is fake. Campenaerts said yesterday morning that Jonas is the best ever and that they are going to attack the Tourmalet... LOL 🤣🤣🤣mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales10-07-2026
- Yet the 7-8 man group containing his riders was not able to close the gap to lone Jonas. They are not in the league of Jonasabstractengineer10-07-2026
- I doubt any of the commentators know of your existence so how would that be possible?Jumpyjohn10-07-2026
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