“We will support Florian and Remco as well as possible” – Red Bull refuse to choose between Evenepoel and Lipowitz despite Tour de France opening-week fireworks
CyclingMonday, 13 July 2026 at 18:00
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe will carry their dual-leadership gamble into the second week of the Tour de France, with neither Remco Evenepoel nor Florian Lipowitz yet asked to surrender his own podium ambitions.
Evenepoel reaches the first rest day fourth overall, only three seconds behind Isaac del Toro in third, while Lipowitz sits seventh and 33 seconds from the podium.
After an opening week containing a public disagreement, a swift attempt to calm tensions and a conspicuous show of cooperation in the heat, team manager Ralph Denk is still backing both.
“We will support Florian and Remco as well as possible,” Denk said on Red Bull’s team podcast. “If they feel good, then perhaps they will try something themselves.”
Evenepoel’s anger brings the tension into public view
The first real flashpoint arrived after Stage 6, when Evenepoel criticised Lipowitz for failing to provide the lead-out he had requested in the battle for third place at Gavarnie-Gedre.
“I had asked for a lead-out, and I didn’t get one,” Evenepoel said after the stage. “Yes, I was angry, and rightly so. In the Volta a Catalunya, I rode at the front for him for 30 kilometres. I asked him to do one kilometre of work at the front, and that wasn’t possible.”
Denk blamed post-stage emotion and communication problems, while Evenepoel later said the disagreement had been discussed and put behind them. Red Bull also made a point of noting that the pair had sat together at dinner that evening.
Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz at the 2026 Tour de France team presentation
Bottles replace barbs in the heat
Stage 9 to Ussel offered a very different image of Red Bull’s two leaders. With temperatures approaching 40 degrees and the group of favourites reduced in size, Lipowitz dropped back to collect bottles before returning to the front and supplying Evenepoel with water.
“We have to be united at the front,” Lipowitz said in quotes reported by Sport1. “When the bottles are empty, somebody has to go back. With such a small group, it is absolutely no problem at all. You do not waste any energy.”
It was basic teamwork rather than a declaration of loyalty, but the contrast with the argument earlier in the week was hard to miss. Lipowitz had not accepted a permanent domestique role, nor had Evenepoel established himself as the sole protected rider.
Mountains set to decide Red Bull’s pecking order
Lipowitz expects the race itself to provide the answer. “There are harder stages coming now, and then the race will gradually become more selective,” he told Sport1. “Towards the end of the week, when we head towards Le Markstein, there will still be movement in the general classification.”
Denk is anticipating the same process. “I expect it to become a race of elimination for the general classification,” the Red Bull manager said on the team podcast.
Tuesday’s mountainous Stage 10 gives both riders their first opportunity after the rest day, with two category-one climbs offering a sharper test than much of the opening week. Evenepoel begins it with the advantage inside Red Bull, but Lipowitz remains only half a minute behind and firmly within reach of the podium.
Red Bull entered the Tour with two recent third-place finishers and have reached the second week with both still alive in the general classification. Until the mountains provide a compelling reason to choose, the team is keeping both cards in play.
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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- Hey Lance...reminder you have ZERO TdF wins ! That getting old and losing your memory is happening now!frieders314-07-2026
- 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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