Race news

Soudal-QuickStep 'not worried' by Evenepoel to Red Bull speculation

As in the summer of 2024, reports linking Remco Evenepoel with a move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have circulated in recent days. The Belgian is under contract with Soudal-QuickStep through 2026 and Red Bull are not his only suitors.

Remco Evenepoel 2025 Belgian Championships
Cor Vos

Soudal-QuickStep CEO Jurgen Foré has downplayed a revival of speculation linking Remco Evenepoel with a move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe at the end of this season.

Currently racing at the Tour de France, Evenepoel is under contract at Soudal-QuickStep until the end of 2026. He was previously linked with a possible move to Red Bull last summer before confirming his intention to stay put on the eve of the World Championships.

Speaking to Daniel Benson at the weekend, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe manager Ralph Denk denied that an agreement had already been brokered with Evenepoel, though he did not hide his interest in signing the rider.

“At the moment, no, but you know cycling changes fast, but at the moment, no,” Denk said. “He’s a very strong rider and a great character and has big potential still.”

Not for the first time, a report later emerged elsewhere claiming that Evenepoel’s transfer to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was imminent. Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws on stage 3 of the Tour de France, Foré dismissed the idea that speculation over Evenepoel’s was a concern.

“It took a long time, three days,” Foré said. “We’re already used to it. This is not a big deal on the team. We’re focused on the Tour. It’s speculation. We’re not really worried about it.”

Lidl-Trek’s Jasper Stuyven has been linked with a possible move to Soudal-QuickStep in 2026, which has led some to conclude that rebuilding the Classics unit is a hint that Evenepoel might not remain with the team. 

“We also have other goals as a team,” Foré said. “Remco is not superman. He cannot participate in all races.”

Primoz Roglic is Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s leader at the Tour de France, and it is believed that he remains under contract for 2026. The Slovenian won the Vuelta a España in his first season at the team after crashing out of the Tour.

In an interview with Daniel Benson on Monday, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe head of sport Rolf Aldag played a straight bat when asked about his team’s interest in Evenepoel.

“I think that if you ask the 23 other team managers here if Remco Evenepoel would fit great into the team, then 23 would probably say so,” Aldag said. “But the situation is not up to me, and I don’t think that it’s the time to discuss it. For me, it’s not a topic, and we focus on our 2025 team.”

Like the many stories linking Evenepoel with an imminent move to Ineos in 2023, this saga looks set to rumble on for the rest of the Tour and for the rest of the summer. And indeed, Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Monday that Ineos Grenadiers remain in the hunt for Evenepoel’s signature even now.

Evenepoel himself, meanwhile, is getting on with the business of racing the Tour de France. The Belgian suffered a crash in the finale of stage 3 to Dunkerque, but he appeared to be relatively unscathed in the incident. He remains 49 seconds down on yellow jersey Mathieu van der Poel and 45 behind Tadej Pogacar.

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