Red Bull team manager Ralph Denk sees no potential for conflict in the dual leadership role shared by German cycling star Florian Lipowitz and Belgian Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel at the Tour de France. “I’m convinced that this will work very well,” said Denk at a press conference ahead of the Tour de France, which begins on 4 July, adding: “Remco is still very much the front man and Florian is a bit of a wingman.”
However, he put this down more to the fact that Evenepoel, as the reigning world time trial champion and double Olympic champion from Paris, is more in the media spotlight. Both are on an equal footing in the race, the Bavarian emphasised: “Ultimately, the day will come when one or the other feels better. They’ll just have to sort that out between themselves out on the road.”
Great teamwork at the Tour of Catalonia
The German Red Bull team signed the Belgian cycling star over the winter for a fee in the millions. It remains to be seen whether Evenepoel will be happy with a support role in the mountains if Lipowitz, who finished third last year, proves to be the better rider. The team has spoken to both riders and they have completed training camps and races together.
It worked well at the Tour of Catalonia in the spring. “We saw a whole new side to Remco in that race, acting as a key support rider for Florian, and it’s no secret that Florian probably wouldn’t have finished third without Remco,” said Denk.
Is Pogacar even beatable?
According to Denk, the season has been “phenomenal” so far for Lipowitz and the whole team. Just last weekend, the German Tour hopeful won the Tour of Slovenia. “Victories always boost confidence,” said the 52-year-old, who is hoping for an improvement on last year’s performance: “I’ve never made any secret of the fact that it’s my personal ambition to win the Tour de France one day.”
However, this will be very difficult against four-time champion Tadej Pogacar. “If everything goes according to plan for him, it’ll be bloody hard to challenge him at all,” says Denk. The Slovenian’s performances are “outstanding”.
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