Tejay van Garderen suggests "war of lawyers" might have impacted Remco Evenpoel's failed Tour

Remco Evenepoel's transfer to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe at the end of this season is the headline move of the whole 2025 transfer window. The Belgian has been connected with Soudal - Quick-Step since the age of 18, but the relationship ultimately fell apart over time. The 2025 Tour de France from which he withdrew halfway through was the final drop, it seems. But the turn of events may have been in reverse order.

"His body wasn't ready after the long layoff to come back to that level of trying to podium him in the Tour de France," Phil Liggett shares his thoughts on Tejay Van Garderen's Beyond The Podium podcast. After all, you cannot beat the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard with some half-effort. "It's the ultimate competition that he had against him."

The commentator develops the idea further: "I was wondering also though, if there was something we all didn't know about, and that was the fight that was going on, and there were lawyers involved to find a way for Remco out of his contract and then flip over to Red Bull. Everybody was talking about it, just waiting for the announcement."

"Of course, as soon as he retired (from the race), it was in days, out came the announcements, he was going to Red Bull. And I just wondered if that worry and concern in the background fighting had simply turned his excitement out of that this year's Tour de France. That's another theory I have."

Evenepoel ultimately fell apart at the end of second week because of a combination of factors. "That's got to be a mental burden that he was carrying that just compounded all of the other issues," analyzes Van Garderen.

His own team came into the race with more leaders which could've undermined Evenepoel's confidence. "We saw them come into the Tour with the split objectives and goals with half the team dedicated to Tim Merlier and half the team dedicated to Remco, which usually if Remco is showing up to a race, he is the outright leader."

And then another blow came immediately on the first day: "So he was already worried that we saw him lose time on the first stage in the crosswinds. And you would think Soudal - Quick-Step, this is the team that they usually give out the punishment in the crosswinds. They're not getting gapped. They're not having their leaders lose time. But I think all of that just kind of compounded in Remco, that mental burden that he was carrying alongside coming back from those injuries. It was just he's only human and he's young, and it's probably just too much for him to deal with."