“It is laughable... simply unprofessional” – Robbie McEwen and Jens Voigt fear lasting damage as Evenepoel-Lipowitz row threatens Red Bull’s Tour de France harmony
CyclingSaturday, 11 July 2026 at 14:30
Robbie McEwen has branded Remco Evenepoel’s public attack on Florian Lipowitz “laughable” and “simply unprofessional”, despite Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe insisting the tension between their Tour de France co-leaders has already been resolved. Lipowitz had outclimbed Evenepoel on the Tourmalet only hours before the Belgian demanded his support in the fight for bonus seconds.
Jens Voigt is equally unconvinced by the rapid reconciliation. The German fears a “small, simmering conflict” may now be impossible to extinguish after only seven stages.
McEwen turns on Evenepoel after public criticism
Evenepoel and Lipowitz spoke privately after their Stage 6 disagreement, sat together at dinner and appeared in a reconciliation video released by Red Bull. Both riders have since played down the incident.
“His memory is one of convenience. I’m not a fan of that sort of behaviour within a team,” the 12-time Tour stage winner said on TNT Sports. “If you are going to say it, just wait until you get on the bus. It was out of line. Honestly, it is laughable when someone carries on like that after the finish line about a team-mate. It is simply unprofessional.”
Four bonus seconds were available for third place at Gavarnie-Gedre. Tadej Pogacar had already disappeared towards a dominant victory, while Jonas Vingegaard finished 19 seconds ahead of the next group.
Isaac del Toro won the sprint for third, beating Evenepoel and collecting the bonus. The Belgian had asked Lipowitz to provide a one-kilometre lead-out but did not receive it.
Red Bull brought Evenepoel and Lipowitz to the Tour as co-leaders, with their performances on the road set to determine how the hierarchy developed. On the first serious climbing day, Lipowitz followed Del Toro and Paul Seixas when Evenepoel lost contact on the Tourmalet. The Belgian regained the group on the descent. Lipowitz reached Stage 7 only 30 seconds behind his teammate overall.
Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz at the 2026 Tour de France team presentation
“A small, simmering conflict”
Del Toro now occupies third overall for UAE Team Emirates – XRG, with Evenepoel still fighting to dislodge him from the final podium position.
“They’re all very close together and really need every second. I understand Remco’s frustration at having given away those four seconds and third place to Isaac del Toro,” said Voigt, a two-time Tour stage winner working for TNT Sports from the television moto during this year’s race. “Never, never, never do you criticise your team. I’m afraid there’s now a small, simmering conflict that can no longer be extinguished.”
Red Bull CEO Ralph Denk blamed a combination of post-stage emotion and a possible language barrier after more than 180 kilometres of mountain racing. He said the teammates had talked, sat together at dinner and were laughing by the end of the evening.
Lipowitz said the pair had settled the matter on the team bus and insisted the atmosphere remained good. Evenepoel also criticised the lack of cooperation in the pursuit of Vingegaard, believing the Dane could have been caught before the final climb.
Evenepoel invokes 30-kilometre Catalunya sacrifice
Evenepoel invoked the work he had performed for Lipowitz earlier in the season when discussing the missed lead-out. “I had asked for a leadout, and I didn’t get one,” Evenepoel told Sporza. “Yes, I was angry, and rightly so."
“In the Volta a Catalunya, I rode on the front for him for 30 kilometres. I asked him to ride on the front for one kilometre, and that wasn’t possible. That made me angry, and it will have to be thoroughly discussed tonight.”
Evenepoel remains fourth overall, three seconds behind Del Toro. Lipowitz sits seventh at 4:00, exactly 30 seconds behind his teammate, with Red Bull still publicly committed to the co-leadership arrangement it brought to the Tour.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Pretty easy to imagine scenarios. E.g. 300m out someone goes for it, all try to get into someone’s wheel except one guy not last who unexpectedly just rides on at his pace (whether neatly or not). And hop, he’ll be around 9 seconds off at the finish. Anyone who’s ridden races knows position makes all the difference at sprint launch, one person in front moving in the wrong direction or not participating can make a huge difference over such a small distance as it can deny you of the wind shade others are exploiting.Jumpyjohn11-07-2026
- Too much for me, attacking, defending, agreeing disagreeing, understanding or not, hard to tell what he’s really saying.Jumpyjohn11-07-2026
- he should be mountain bike racing in the world cups. he would have more fun, get more headlines, and it would serve his personal goals better.mij11-07-2026
- Duh.Renz11-07-2026
- I suppose you can show why the studies on athlete fueling are actually BS, right?acem8211-07-2026
- the official narrative is "nutrition" when it comes to explaining the difference in levels from year to year. every single rider points to nutrition. In armstrong's era it was cadence, work ethic and equipment. froome and co. actually got caught but used MUE's. the truth will come out with all of these guys.whkman11-07-2026
- It’s a long race - lots can happenCrashjames11-07-2026
- Projection - “if I was JV, I’d probably climb off” - but, Wiggins, you aren’t even in the same league as JV.Crashjames11-07-2026
- There should be a survey of TV ratings as well as the size of crowds at cycling events, ever since Pogacar burst onto the scene - especially for those races in which he is participating. That would give you the correct picture.Cooldude11-07-2026
- There's a reason why he's a champion and they're not. Hate him or not he's racing to win or get damn near close instead or trying just to settle for 3rdbruins3011-07-2026
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