Former two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador believes that Remco Evenepoel's move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was a wise one, and should enable the Belgian to improve drastically in the high mountains.
While there has been no doubt about Evenepoel's time trialling ability over the years, his performances in the mountains have been more mixed, sometimes – like last year at the Tour – through no fault of his own.
All the same, the sight of an ill and injured Evenepoel's abandon on the Col du Tourmalet, one of the Tour's best-known ascents, remains a stand-out image from last year's race, and the same went for his massive time loss on the Pyrenean stage finishing on the same climb in the 2023 Vuelta a España.
In stark contrast – and showing what Evenepoel can do on the climbs when not hampered by bad luck – a third place in his 2024 debut Tour de France participation represented a massive step forward in that area. Other points that speak volumes about his potential to shine when the road steepens include his victory in the 2022 Vuelta a España. His bounce back from disaster in the 2023 Vuelta after the Tourmalet to win the stage the following day in the Pyrenees will likely give his supporters ground for optimism, too.
Following his changeover to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, in any case, Contador believes that there is a great opportunity for Evenepoel to progress in the mountains – something which potentially could lead to a much stronger all-round ride in the Tour de France.
"He's switched to a very good team that has everything going for it," the Spaniard confirmed to Sporza during the recent Velofollies trade show in Belgium.
"With [Primož] Roglič, Lipowitz – who finished third in the Tour last year – [Jai] Hindley, [Aleksandr] Vlasov... What's more, the team has the right people to help Remco improve on the long climbs. He made the right decision [to change squads].
"We'll see what Remco's level is if he continues to improve. Can he stay at his best every day in a Grand Tour with stages featuring two to three climbs?" Contador asked rhetorically.
Improvements in Evenepoel's climbing ability notwithstanding, Contador warned that beating Tadej Pogačar would remain an uphill challenge, saying the team had to play their cards right. Perhaps remembering how Jumbo-Visma used collective tactics to wear Pogačar down in the Alps in 2022, he suggested Roglič – not, actually, taking part in the 2026 Tour if current team plans are maintain – could take risks while Evenepoel and Lipowitz could stay on Pogačar's wheel.
"If you want to beat Pogačar, you have to play with your options. If there was a 200-kilometre time trial, it would be a different story," he told Sporza. "But otherwise, it's difficult to beat Tadej when he's at his best."
Choosing which riders should take part in the Tour de France would not be hard for the team, Contador said because of much more exact scientific data being available regarding their condition compared to when he was racing 10 or 15 years ago. However, back in his day when he was Spain's greatest Grand Tour racer of a generation, Contador also had more than enough experience of racing in a team with multiple leaders, too, like Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
However, despite superficial similarities, Contador classified the situation when he took on Astana and half of his own teammates in the 2009 Tour de France, spearheaded by none other than Lance Armstrong, as completely different. None of the Red Bull riders had already won the Tour de France, he pointed out, unlike Contador and the Texan (who then lost all six victories due to his doping past, whilst Contador then lost his 2010 title due to a much-disputed positive for clenbuterol) at that point in his career.
"In my case, Armstrong had already won the Tour and came back to win again. I had won the last Tour [2007]. But [only] one of us could take the overall victory, so that was difficult."
