Remco Evenepoel confident before Tour: ‘I am lighter, but the power is still there’
Remco Evenepoel will arrive at the Tour de France with far more confidence than he had twelve months ago, after completing an uninterrupted and carefully controlled preparation.
The Belgian has not raced since finishing third behind Tadej Pogačar and Paul Seixas at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April. Rather than returning to competition in June, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe opted for an extended training programme designed to give him full control over his workload.
Evenepoel believes that approach has worked.
“I am lighter, but the power is still there,” He told Belgian media, including Sporza, a week before the Grand Départ in Barcelona. “We approached the weight loss intelligently. The training has gone smoothly and I can start the Tour knowing that everything is in balance.”
That marks a significant change from last year, when his preparations were still being affected by the injuries he suffered in a training accident the previous December.
Evenepoel reached the 2025 Tour but struggled to complete important sessions during his final altitude camp. He later abandoned the race during the second week.
“Last year I was already exhausted when I arrived at the start,” he said. “This time I have been able to complete everything, including the hardest sessions in extreme heat. I will begin the Tour with a completely different feeling.”
No concern over lack of racing
By the time the Tour begins on July 4, Evenepoel will have spent 68 days away from competition. Red Bull deliberately removed the Tour Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes from his programme to prioritise training and recovery.
His preparation included long endurance rides, repeated climbing efforts, time trial work and shorter high intensity sessions. Evenepoel dismissed concerns that he might lack race rhythm in the opening stages.
“I do not need to race to become ready for the Tour,” he said. “I can reach the necessary level through training.”
The decision carries some risk, but Red Bull believes freshness and a controlled workload will serve him better than another demanding stage race. The team also studied his preparation for the 2022 Vuelta a España, which he won after a relatively light racing schedule.
Early chance to take yellow
Evenepoel will share leadership duties with Florian Lipowitz, who finished third in last year’s Tour and recently won the Tour of Slovenia.
The pair will have an immediate opportunity in Barcelona, where the opening stage is a team time trial. Red Bull will begin among the favourites for the stage victory and the first yellow jersey of the race.
“Yellow is a dream, of course, but every team will have worked towards that goal,” Evenepoel said. “We see it primarily as an opportunity to win the stage.”
The final kilometre rises sharply, which could make it difficult for teams to remain together all the way to the line. Evenepoel does not expect Red Bull to decide beforehand whether he or Lipowitz should finish first.
“In the final kilometre, all the Tour leaders will have to ride at their own pace,” he said. “The goal is to reach the finish as quickly as possible.”
Beyond the opening team time trial, Red Bull have assembled a strong group around Evenepoel and Lipowitz. Jai Hindley, third at the Giro d’Italia, will be an important presence in the mountains, while Maxim Van Gils is expected to help on the climbs and the harder days in between.
Jan Tratnik will serve as road captain. Mattia Cattaneo, Nico Denz and Tim van Dijke complete the team. Primož Roglič has been left out of the Tour squad and will focus on the Vuelta a España.
Evenepoel’s long spell without racing remains the biggest question mark. Barcelona will show whether that approach has paid off.
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