“It’s possible to win the Tour de France one day, it’s my dream” – Remco Evenepoel vows to make ‘many sacrifices’ in Pogacar pursuit

For all the noise around his winter move, the accusations from his former boss, and the early victories in Mallorca, the clearest explanation for Remco Evenepoel’s switch to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe comes from the rider himself.

“It’s possible to win the Tour de France one day, it’s my dream,” Evenepoel said in an interview with Eurosport France. “It’s my dream, I will do everything to achieve it, to win it. I’ll make many sacrifices.”

Those words cut through everything else. This is not about fresh colours, new staff, or a perfect start to the season. It is about July. And it is about closing the gap to Tadej Pogacar.

Evenepoel’s Mallorca hat trick offered reassurance that his winter has gone to plan. But the Belgian is already looking far beyond January form checks. He is thinking in terms of what it will take to win cycling’s biggest race.

Evenepoel spoke openly about what he took from last season’s direct confrontations with Pogacar. He referenced the World Championships road race, where the pair went head-to-head on the climbs.

“I learned a lot from that race,” he said. “It was a race where I was really at my best, and we had a real battle on the climb where Tadej dropped me. For 20 to 30 seconds, I really had to recover from that initial effort. These are the things we work on, the things we want to improve.”

That is where the sacrifices come in. Evenepoel made it clear that the work being done now is precise and deliberate. “We do a lot of intense training. We look at his level from last year, where I think he was untouchable. We look at my own level, and we want to reach the maximum of my abilities.”

Evenepoel also outlined how carefully his 2026 race calendar has been built. There is no scattergun approach. Instead, there are controlled peaks, altitude camps, and race blocks designed to monitor how his body responds across ten days of competition.

“Let’s hope we can have a normal season and see how I react during an altitude training camp, over ten days of competition. That’s why we’ve put together a basic programme. I’m happy. It’s still a good programme with some great races, lots of peaks.”

He added that, even in races that might appear secondary, his approach will not change. “Every race I enter, I’ll be aiming to give my all.”

Perhaps the most telling line was not about winning, but about positioning. “I hope one day to be able to compete alongside him, and maybe even one day be at the front.”

That is an unusually honest admission from a rider who has already won a Grand Tour and stood on the Tour de France podium. It shows the scale of the challenge Evenepoel believes lies ahead.

The victories in Mallorca have shown that his legs are ready. The environment at Red Bull has given him confidence. But in his own words, everything now points to a longer-term objective that demands patience, precision, and sacrifice.

For Evenepoel, the move, the winter work, and the early wins all feed into a single idea. Winning the Tour de France is not a hope. It is a plan that he is prepared to reshape his entire season around.