{"id":714515,"date":"2026-01-23T04:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T04:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/714515\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T04:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T04:12:11","slug":"we-decided-not-to-ride-the-tour-de-france-with-primoz-roglic-red-bull-shape-maillot-jaune-plan-around-evenepoel-lipowitz-in-bid-to-topple-pogacar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/714515\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe decided not to ride the Tour de France with Primoz Roglic\u201d \u2013 Red Bull shape Maillot Jaune plan around Evenepoel & Lipowitz in bid to topple Pogacar"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThat philosophy now sits behind a clear shift in how Red Bull are shaping their biggest objective of 2026: the Tour de France<\/a>. The decision to remove Primoz Roglic<\/a> from those plans is not a snub. It is a statement about where the team believe their strongest chance now lies.Lipowitz\u2019s rise and why he mattersThe roots of this shift go back to 2025. Denk admitted that the team\u2019s season leaned heavily on one race and one rider. \u201cWe saved our season thanks to a very good Tour de France<\/a> from Florian Lipowitz<\/a>, because this race has enormous value in our sport,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also did well at the Vuelta, where we even won a stage. However, in the classics we can and must do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

That Tour performance did more than rescue a year. It quietly changed Lipowitz\u2019s status inside the team. What had looked like a supporting role suddenly became evidence that he could be trusted in cycling\u2019s biggest arena. With Evenepoel arriving as a marquee signing, Red Bull now have two riders who, in very different ways, can carry a Grand Tour.<\/p>\n

That is why Denk\u2019s focus is not on hierarchy, but on balance. \u201cOur aim is to start with a dual strategy to have more chances,\u201d he said when asked about Tour leadership. \u201cFor me, it is very important that Florian and Remco are happy in this constellation.\u201d He pointed to early-season racing as a testing ground, noting that in Catalunya \u201cboth will race together and we will see how the battle goes; for now, I am quite calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those words matter because they show how carefully Red Bull are trying to manage ambition. Evenepoel arrives as a global star. Lipowitz arrives as a rider who has already delivered for the team on the Tour\u2019s biggest stage. The plan is not to crown one too early, but to let performance and circumstance decide.<\/p>\n

Why Roglic is being kept away from the TourThat same logic explains the most striking line of the interview. When discussing Roglic\u2019s future, Denk was blunt: \u201cThat is why we decided not to ride the Tour de France<\/a> with him, because we want to focus completely on the Vuelta.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not a judgement on Roglic\u2019s level. Denk called him \u201cvery professional\u201d and argued that, because he started cycling later, \u201che can compete at the highest level for more years than other riders.\u201d He even said he trusts that Roglic \u201ccan win a fifth Vuelta a Espana,\u201d as long as his preparation is perfect.<\/p>\n

But Red Bull no longer want to split their biggest resources across too many fronts. With Evenepoel and Lipowitz shaping the Tour project, Roglic becomes the centre of gravity for the Vuelta. That separation gives the team two clear peaks rather than one diluted one.<\/p>\n

A Tour plan built around attraction<\/p>\n

Put together, Denk\u2019s comments outline a team that is trying to be something more than efficient. Red Bull\u2019s arrival has brought money, but also a different mindset. Winning matters, but so does how those wins look, who delivers them, and whether the project feels exciting rather than functional.<\/p>\n

That is why Evenepoel and Lipowitz sit at the centre of the Tour strategy. One brings global profile and explosive style. The other brings credibility earned in the race that still defines careers. Roglic, instead of being forced into that same frame, is being given his own stage later in the year.<\/p>\n

Red Bull are not hiding their ambition. They want big races, big names, and big moments. But, as Denk made clear, they want to be remembered not just for trophies, but for how they go about chasing them.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" That philosophy now sits behind a clear shift in how Red Bull are shaping their biggest objective…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":628046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,77930,186915,199102,77932,213782,42460,16151,79,16152,20680,16,15],"class_list":["post-714515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-florian-lipowitz","tag-giulio-pellizzari","tag-lorenzo-finn","tag-primoz-roglic","tag-ralph-denk","tag-red-bull-bora-hansgrohe","tag-remco-evenepoel","tag-sports","tag-tadej-pogacar","tag-tour-de-france","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115942466772382675","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}