After courting Remco Evenepoel for years, Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe has finally achieved its goal by bringing the two-time Olympic champion to its team. The German team manager of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Ralph Denk, has successfully acquired Evenepoel from Soudal Quick-Step to race for his team from January 1, 2026. The Belgian will not just be a lead rider, but a true source of inspiration for all other team riders, just as Peter Sagan was before him.

Now the German team can be considered a true powerhouse, not only because it has an experienced rider like Primoz Roglic and a promising young talent like Florian Lipowitz, but because a precious gem like Evenepoel has joined the squad. However, Denk wanted to emphasize that the Belgian should not focus solely on a future Tour de France victory, but that there will be many other opportunities for him in the group.

"It's still too early to say what the expectations will be for the next Tour de France," Denk said during the Sport am Samstag broadcast. We still need to discuss how we will organize ourselves for the grand tours. Cycling is not like football, where you field the same team in every match. At the Giro, Tour de France, and Vuelta, we have a different team each time. We can only start working on how we'll organize ourselves once the routes are made public by the organizers."

Red Bull – Bora Hansgrohe is a German team, and consequently, in Germany, the public expects home riders like Florian Lipowitz to have a leading role. Denk acknowledged the potential internal competition issue but stated they will work to find the right solution. "It's positive that cycling is so strong in Germany. We've already discussed this extensively with Florian, and we might decide to focus on a single leader, or we might choose a different approach. But I repeat: it's too early to talk about it."

Florian Lipowitz, like Remco Evenepoel, was born in 2000, but there are many differences between the two riders, not only in grand tour results but also in one-day races. Both have achieved a third place at the Tour de France, but Evenepoel has also won the Vuelta a España and secured several stage wins in the three grand tours.

"I would also like to add that Remco didn't come to us just for the Tour de France, but for many other races. With him, we want to target the Classics, races in which he has already achieved many successes. Our goal is to win a Monument Classic in 2026 and perform well in the Grand Tours, and Remco's arrival should not take opportunities away from other riders."

It won't be easy initially to manage three top riders like Roglic, Evenepoel, and Lipowitz, but Denk is certain that everyone on the team will have their moment. "Evenepoel will offer opportunities to others and I'm sure he can push other riders to a higher level. Others can grow in his shadow, while he will take a lot of pressure off them."