'We've set the guys straight' - Red Bull reflect on stage 9 after Evenepoel and Lipowitz isolated in finale

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe used the Tour de France rest day to review a difficult stage 9, where Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz were left without teammates during the finale.

Evenepoel played down the significance of the discussions afterwards, describing them as a normal part of the team’s evaluation process during a Grand Tour.

“We always have conversations like that about the good and bad moments, and that moment was certainly one of them,” Evenepoel told Sporza.

Evenepoel and Lipowitz finished safely in the peloton on the day, six seconds behind stage winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech). As the race enters its second week, Evenepoel sits fourth in the general classification, 3:30 behind race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), while Lipowitz is seventh, a further 30 seconds behind his Belgian teammate.

Teammate Maxim Van Gils was more critical of his own performance. The Belgian had attacked earlier in the stage but struggled in the heat and was unable to provide support to the team’s two leaders later in the race.

“I jumped into the move myself on Sunday and suffered from the heat. I was completely spent,” Van Gils told Sporza. “It wasn’t ideal, but we have to learn from it. Above all, it mustn’t happen again.”

Sports director Klaas Lodewyck also admitted the team had not performed at the required level. He said Red Bull had addressed the issue internally and expects a response from the riders.

“We’ve set the guys straight,” Lodewyck told Sporza. “Sunday wasn’t a good stage for the team.”

Lodewyck acknowledged that factors such as the high pace, hot weather and accumulated fatigue after nine demanding stages had contributed to the situation. However, he insisted those factors could not be used as excuses.

“As a team, we weren’t in position, and you pay the price for that immediately,” he added.

The team now has an opportunity to respond as the Tour resumes with a challenging stage through the Massif Central. Featuring almost 4,000 metres of climbing, the route is expected to favour the strongest climbers and could shake up the GC. 

Speaking before the start, Evenepoel highlighted the significance of the stage, describing it as one of the most demanding tests of the race so far.

“It’s an important day, in any case. On paper, it’s probably the second really tough stage we have to tackle, so it’s bound to be a demanding day,” Evenepoel told WielerFlits.

The Olympic champion is familiar with the finale to Le Lioran, having finished third there during stage 11 of the 2024 Tour.

“It’s a finale I know well from the 2024 Tour; I finished third at this finish line back then. Ultimately, it’s a great finale with some nice climbs,” said Evenepoel.

“They aren’t the longest climbs of this Tour, but they are tricky. If the legs are there and the situation arises to give it a go, I’ll certainly try,” he added.