"It wouldn't happen at Visma" - Jose De Cauwer criticizes Red Bull's lack of support for Evenepoel in first week
CyclingMonday, 13 July 2026 at 23:00
The first block of racing at the 2026 Tour de France is a matter of the past, and the first rest day is a great opportunity to take a look back at what has gone down in the past nine stages. In his commentary for Sporza, Jose de Cauwer switches focus towards Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. And in particular Remco Evenepoel.
The German team started Tour with great ambition to finish on overall podium with Florian Lipowitz. Or Remco Evenepoel. The pre-race signals were clear that home rider was the team's preferred option, however road has not given a clear answer as to which of the two former Tour podium finishers is the stronger.
And while the cards have not been distributed at the moment, De Cauwer is baffled by the team's overall display. What stood out to the analyst in particular has been the ninth stage where Lipowitz and Evenepoel sailed through smoothly, but without any support from their teammates in later parts of the stage.
"I received messages from people from his former team," he begins. "They said that Evenepoel had indeed changed teams, but that no one was sitting with him."
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Van Gils has been nowhere
Red Bull have definitely not brought their strongest climbing support options to the Grande Boucle this summer, but that still hardly about justifies their meager presence throughout the first week. In particular Giro podium finisher Jai Hindley and returnee from injury Maxim Van Gils have not lived up to De Cauwer's expectations till now.
The young Belgian was even sighted trying to join breakaways, rather than sticking to their leaders, something uncomprehensible to the commentator: "I saw Maxim Van Gils jump along in the early stages. I would never do that, because that blows you up. We are talking about the Tour and the podium, you know. Then we don't give Van Gils a chance. Sorry."
"Van Gils wasn’t hired for that, even though he was already riding for Evenepoel on the team. You get paid for what you do. Yes, to win races. But Evenepoel gets paid even more, and he needs support. Do they have five riders like that who can support him? No. It is an unpleasant situation. Because just imagine getting a flat when a gap is formed. Will Lipowitz give up his wheel then? I don’t think so."
This wouldn't happen at Visma
The team has also made a rather risky decision to bring no less than four rouleurs who don't quite have the quality to stick around in key mountain stages. Then the race situation often comes down to that there is Hindley for Lipowitz... and Remco alone.
"I have a problem with the fact that he (referring to Evenepoel, ed.) doesn't have anyone with him. We are talking about a group of about forty riders. There were many riders of a lower caliber among them. But the Red Bull riders are trying to go for a prize; think also of Jan Tratnik and Nico Denz a few days ago. I wouldn't do that," he says emphatically.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
The ninth stage is once again brought up as a prime example of how a team attempting for overall podium simply cannot afford to race. Fortunately for Red Bull, UAE nor Visma were willing to expose their vulnerability in later parts of the stage.
"At Visma | Lease a Bike they put them on the sidelines, but that’s not possible at this team," adds De Cauwer. "I don’t find this funny. It is a team with so much money. The fact that only the two leaders are in that group doesn’t make sense."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Lack of support? Do they need someone to hold his hand when he gets dropped on the big mountain climbs?frieders314-07-2026
- Don’t cap rider salaries, cap team budgets. UAE can pay tadej 10 million, but then has to spread the other 10 mil across the rest of the team for exampleCrashjames13-07-2026
- Yes, sure, Pog had been injured. But Jonas said he would win by minutes and did it. in two days, as everyone remembers. But he hasn't yet won races all year round,, so people who want to bring up this topic tend to talk about Pog.Hills3313-07-2026
- I bet Seixas has extra cold AC.mrvco13-07-2026
- Now it's clear why Simon left.MajorPayne13-07-2026
- Wondering if there is any other teams at that hotel. Or if another team has anything to do with the AC. Don't laugh as stuff this paying fans to throw thumbtacks on the roan or crowd some riders on climbing stages have been talked about for yearsmd197513-07-2026
- First thing: That's not true. In 2023 Pogi completely blew up. Any cyclist that day would have beaten him. He said himself: 'I'm gone. I'm dead.' Vingegaard never blew up, but he loses 80% of the time when he goes mano a mano against Pogi. Second thing: We have "two" Pogi's... one from 2019-2023... and the second from 2024-on. He will not blow up again. OK, maybe Pogi will lose a stage against Jonas here and there, but he will win 80% of them. Ad acta!!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales13-07-2026
- To be honest, this is at least where I expected Pogi to be relative to the field, based on the parcours of the tour so far. I was actually surprised that he didn't take more time in Stages 2 and 4. If Jonas was ever going to challenge Pogi in GC, it was going to be late in week 3. His only hope has been that somehow he's more durable, that he recovers from the heat better, and that he can out-diesel Pogi in stages 19 and 20. I think it's unlikely, but I do think he still has a small chance.DAS13-07-2026
- Some chose to live/watch cycling with a 'glass half empty' mindset -- must be tiring.b3tlla13-07-2026
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