Remco Evenepoel and his Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe teammates won’t be able roll out in a special-edition kit for Friday’s Stage 13 of the Tour de France, but they tried. The team put together a cool jersey with nearly every design element turned upside down. (Even the team cars had it, too!)
If you follow pro cycling, (which I guess you do, since you’re here) you know that this is a playful reference to cycling’s long-standing superstition of flipping race number 13 upside down for good luck.
If a rider has that number, he always pins it the other way around to thwart any bad vibes. Or something.
But there’s more to it than just a fun gag: It also marks the team’s 13th appearance at the Tour. In 2014, then known as Team NetApp–Endura, it was a Pro Continental (now UCI ProTeam) squad. That year, Leopold König finished an impressive seventh overall. During that Tour, the team announced it had secured BORA as a title sponsor, and the team continued to expand.
No dice on 13
According to Sporza, the squad had hoped to race in specially designed jerseys for Stage 13, but those were not approved. Instead, the riders will wear an alternate kit featuring upside-down logos, text and colours. They do have the Number 13 on their “regular” special edition Tour kit, still, though, commenorating the 13th time doing the race.
Evenepoel isn’t buying into the superstition, though. Because of course he doesn’t believe in things like that. I mean, that seems totally Remco, doesn’t it?
“For me it has usually been a lucky number, so I don’t participate in that superstition,” he told Sporza. They did end up wearing them on the rest day, at least.
🇫🇷 #TDF2026
Superstitions, sprint drama and a late-night transformation for Stage 13 🧂🐈⬛
Go inside Stage 12 as the team navigates another fast finale, then see why everything looked a little different the next morning.
▶️ Watch now: https://t.co/XAIwpxEZxT pic.twitter.com/CzWiFwByMR
— Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe (@RBH_ProCycling) July 17, 2026
Stage 13 is a tough course—not necessarily for the GC riders, but definitely not for the sprinters. Probably a break (but who knows anymore?) from Dole to Belfort for a total of 205.8 km. With around 40 km to go, there’s a nasty lump—the Ballon d’Alsace, 9.1 km averaging just under 7 per cent. From the summit, it’s essentially a downhill run to the finish. You can catch the action on FloBikes.com, and, as always, check back on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report.
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