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Tour de France: Team Aims to Smooth Over Evenepoel's Criticism of Lipowitz
🇩🇪 Germany /Sports

Tour de France: Team Aims to Smooth Over Evenepoel's Criticism of Lipowitz

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Cyclist Remco Evenepoel expressed frustration with teammate Florian Lipowitz during a Tour de France stage.
  • Team management has downplayed the incident, stating the riders have resolved the issue.
  • The team faces ongoing scrutiny regarding rider dynamics and performance in the race.

The atmosphere at the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team hotel was calm the morning after cyclist Remco Evenepoel voiced his displeasure with teammate Florian Lipowitz during a Tour de France stage. Team director Ralph Denk sought to quell any notion of a crisis, stating that the riders had discussed the matter and that it was no longer a significant issue.

The two guys talked about it. There is nothing big now.

— Ralph DenkDownplaying the severity of the disagreement between Evenepoel and Lipowitz.

Denk, speaking on the podcast 'Inside Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe,' emphasized that the incident was being overblown by the media. He confirmed that Evenepoel and Lipowitz had eaten together and shared laughs, indicating a reconciliation. This aligns with information suggesting the team could even joke about the situation internally.

Everyone has their own strengths, and you want to play them out. It is all said. The past is the past. We have to look forward now.

— Remco EvenepoelSpeaking diplomatically about the incident after the stage.

Evenepoel himself adopted a more diplomatic tone, telling Eurosport, "Everyone has their own strengths, and you want to play them out. It is all said. The past is the past. We have to look forward now." He is known for his direct, sometimes heated, reactions immediately after stages, which often subside later. Team sports director Zak Dempster described Evenepoel as someone who "wears his heart on his sleeve" and speaks his mind when frustrated.

Remco is a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. And when he is frustrated, then he says it.

— Zak DempsterDescribing Evenepoel's direct communication style.

Denk attributed the disagreement partly to a language barrier and the heat of the moment, occurring after a demanding 180-kilometer mountain stage. Despite the apparent resolution, the coming weeks will reveal how the more reserved Lipowitz navigates working with the openly demanding Evenepoel, especially if Lipowitz proves stronger in the Alps. Evenepoel had publicly stated his annoyance, recalling a previous instance in the Catalonia Tour where he felt he had not received adequate support from Lipowitz.

The topic is being made bigger currently than it actually was.

— Ralph DenkAsserting that the media is exaggerating the conflict.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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