Evenepoel confirms 2026 schedule: Tour de France over Giro d'Italia
Despite a 40km time trial, the Belgian will resist the temptation to ride the Giro d'Italia in his debut season at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
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Remco Evenepoel will skip the Giro d’Italia and focus squarely on the Tour de France in his first season at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
The Belgian had floated the possibility of a tilt at the Giro-Tour double in 2026, and RCS Sport had hoped the inclusion of a 40km individual time trial would persuade him to return to the corsa rosa. Speaking to reporters at Red Bull’s media day in Binissalem, Mallorca, on Tuesday, however, Evenepoel confirmed that the Tour would be his principal target in 2026.
Evenepoel will line up alongside Florian Lipowitz at the head of a strong Red Bull squad at the Tour. The German placed third overall on his debut this year, and he had already ruled out riding the Giro in 2026.
As things stand, Primož Roglič will not be part of Red Bull’s Tour line-up. The Slovenian’s lone Grand Tour appearance of the year is set to come at the Vuelta a España, where he is chasing the outright record of five overall wins.
Giulio Pellizzari will lead the line at the Giro after impressing in his debut season at Red Bull. The Italian placed sixth overall at both the Giro and Vuelta.
“It will be the first time I go to a Grand Tour with a double leadership,” Evenepoel said of sharing top billing with Lipowitz in July. “It’s the best way for us to do well. I think this team has the mentality to end up as high as possible. Whether it’s me or Florian, we just want to be on the first spot.”
Evenepoel placed third overall on his Tour debut in 2024, but he abandoned this year’s race on the Col du Tourmalet after struggling in the Pyrenees.
Shortly after that Tour setback, Evenepoel announced that he would leave Soudal-QuickStep at the end of the season to join Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, bringing an end to a long-running transfer saga that began not long after he won the 2022 Vuelta a España.
“The Tour means a lot,” Evenepoel said. “Two years ago was my first Tour, I came third, which is nice. Last year was a different story, it was a difficult year. But this winter has gone well, and I hope there will be no interruptions.”
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