Red Bull Says Evenepoel Leads. What If Lipowitz Is Stronger?

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe confirmed Remco Evenepoel as its Tour de France leader.

Officially, anyway.

The more interesting question is what happens if Florian Lipowitz is stronger.

Red Bull team manager Ralph Denk finally broke his silence on Tour leadership this week.

And then he left the door wide open for the mountains to overrule any orders from inside the team bus.

“Remco is still the team leader and Florian Lipowitz is a bit of the second man,” Denk told Het Laatste Nieuws.

“Eventually, there will come a day when one or the other feels better. Then they will have to fight it out between themselves on the road.”

Add in the money, the pressure, and two riders who both believe they belong on the podium, and you have the ingredients for the Tour’s biggest soap opera.

Red Bull is the only serious Tour contender heading to Barcelona without a clear number one.

On paper, Evenepoel is the man.

But Denk all but admitted the road will decide.

The stats favor Lipowitz, the money is on Evenepoel

The awkward reality for Red Bull is that Lipowitz has been its most consistent GC rider all season.

Podiums at Catalunya, the Basque Country and Romandie — followed by two stage wins and the overall at the Tour of Slovenia — back that up.

But after one of cycling’s most expensive transfers ever, Red Bull has to back the double Olympic gold medalist, right?

Remco opened 2026 on fire, with seven wins before March, plus Amstel Gold and podiums at Flanders and Liège in the classics.

Then he cracked at the UAE Tour and looked vulnerable at the Volta a Catalunya.

Since Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Evenepoel hasn’t raced at all. Just altitude camps and training blocks.

Showing up in Barcelona after more than 60 days without racing is one of this Tour’s biggest gambles.

Red Bull will let them race it out. Fans of drama and inside-the-bus intrigue couldn’t be happier.

The road will decide

Both riders have something to prove.

Evenepoel was third in his Tour debut in 2024 but abandoned last year. Lipowitz finished third and won white in his first Tour in 2025.

The opening half suits Evenepoel. The brutal final week may favor Lipowitz.

Things might reach a full boil deep in the French Alps, with back-to-back summit finishes at Alpe d’Huez to settle everything.

Of course, Red Bull’s biggest problem is wearing UAE colors.

“If everything goes normally from his perspective, it will be damn difficult to challenge him at all,” Denk said of Pogačar.

Pogačar has become so dominant that teams might as well throw the kitchen sink at him and hope something sticks.

Red Bull gets two chances. If one leader blows up, there’s still another rider in the game.

Not many teams can say that heading into the Tour.

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