"The team is more than capable" – Red Bull believe Evenepoel is final piece in Grand Tour winning puzzle

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe believe that the imminent arrival of Remco Evenepoel from Soudal - Quick-Step will elevate them from podium contenders to genuine Grand Tour winners, with Belgian directeur sportif Sven Vanthourenhout insisting that the team’s recent performances already show they have the foundations in place.

“There were plenty of questions raised in the first weeks after the transfer,” Vanthourenhout admitted in an interview with WielerFlits. “Analysts and media outlets were critical: people asked if this was really the right environment for Remco. I don’t think those criticisms are fair. You can see from the Vuelta, and earlier in the Tour, that the team is more than capable.”

For Vanthourenhout, Evenepoel’s transfer has acted as a catalyst. Riders and staff alike, he says, are already gearing up for the 2026 season with the 25-year-old as their cornerstone. “I can only say that everyone within the team is really looking forward to Remco’s arrival – and the same goes for him,” he said. “Among both riders and staff, everyone is preparing for his arrival. You can feel that people want to draw positive energy from it, to contribute, and to make sure that in 2026 we can immediately leave our mark on the biggest races.”

That positivity extends beyond Evenepoel himself. Vanthourenhout sees a broader cultural shift taking hold within the team. “I feel that there’s a fresh vision running through the squad, across all departments. Of course, there will be ups and downs, but I have a good feeling that the transition to 2026 will go smoothly. That’s why it’s so important for the team to finish this year strongly.”

With Evenepoel joining a stacked roster that also includes Jai Hindley, Florian Lipowitz, Giulio Pellizzari, Aleksandr Vlasov and Primoz Roglic, questions remain over how the team will manage such a concentration of Grand Tour leaders. For Vanthourenhout, that’s an enviable dilemma rather than a problem.

“It’s too early to say,” he noted. “The World Tour calendar is extremely broad. There are three Grand Tours, plenty of prestigious stage races, monuments and classics. Over the winter, we’ll need to work out how to divide that up, but the important thing is that everyone is ready to welcome Remco with open arms.”

Vanthourenhout also acknowledged that 2025 has not lived up to expectations, especially in the spring classics. “No one in the team will deny that it hasn’t been what it should have been,” he said. “It’s up to us now to identify where the weaknesses lie and to start working on them from October onwards, building towards 2026. But since the Tour, where Lipowitz finished third, the sporting turnaround has already begun.”

That sense of recovery has continued into the Vuelta a Espana, where Hindley and Pellizzari sit fourth and sixth overall heading into the final week. “For Hindley, the podium is not far away, and Pellizzari is also doing well,” Vanthourenhout said. “But more importantly: the atmosphere within the group is excellent. That’s crucial in the third week of a Grand Tour.”

The rider reshuffle has been matched by changes to the backroom. With Rolf Aldag and Enrico Gasparotto departing, Vanthourenhout himself came on board in July, while Allan Peiper has also been linked with a role.

“Day by day, the positions are becoming clearer,” the former Belgian national team coach explained. “The aim is to get everyone into the role where they can add the most value. Without going into too much detail, I think that’s precisely what’s been lacking a bit in the past. Now, things are gradually falling into place. By the first training camp, the structure needs to be finalised and everyone has to know their role.”

Evenepoel’s signing was one of the most significant moves of this year’s transfer market, and Vanthourenhout believes it has come at the perfect time. “Let’s hope 2025 was a transitional year, and that from 2026 we can start laying a new foundation,” he said. “Everyone is working extremely hard to build the right structure, and with Remco’s arrival, we have every reason to believe the team is ready to take the final step.”