“I thought he looked very thin" - Grand Tour shape Tadej Pogacar stuns Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe riders during training camp

An update on Tadej Pogacar's preparation and shape for the 2026 Tour de France has come from an unlikely source - a rival team in Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe. With multiple WorldTour teams wrapping up Sierra Nevada training camps, the team of Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz caught a glimpse of the reigning Tour champion as he prepares to defend his title.

Maxim Van Gils and his Red Bull teammates are hard at work, fine-tuning details for the July showdown as Evenepoel keeps his preparation low-key and without races before arriving at the Barcelona Grand Depart. Van Gils is recovering from a nasty Clasica Jaen crash injury with a new coach, but shared an update on the Slovenian.

Pogacar passed Van Gils and his teammates on a climb in the popular Spanish altitude training spot, with the Belgian noting the speed of the world champion. After finishing his spring classics block at a heavier and more powerful weight, Pogacar has went away to slim down for the high mountains of the Tour.

And according to Van Gils, Pogacar is well on his way to reaching prime shape in time for July. He noted that a "normal" climbing effort appeared to see him pass the Red bull riders at a significant speed.

“Tadej [Pogačar] passed us a few times, and he was going very fast,” Van Gils said in an interview with HLN.

“We really were not riding slowly, but Tadej went uphill extremely hard. At first we thought he was doing it to bluff a little and that he had hidden in the bushes a few corners later. But when we got to the top, we saw him again. So it really was just a normal climbing effort for him.”

One of the most notable aspects of Pogacar's season has been his transition into a new phase of training - re-focusing from classics goals to grand tour preparation. While showing a strong level at the Tour de Romandie in May, many noted his heavier weight meaning his strength was diminished slightly on longer climbs.

However, the 26-year-old Belgian gave a definitive update on Pogacar's shape. He added: “I thought he looked very thin."

Pogacar returns to racing for the Tour de Suisse on June 17th. Having never won the stage race before, he faces five stages to fine tune and attempt to add another WorldTour stage race to vast palmares.