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Three race days, three very important and different victories: it’s fair to say that Remco Evenepoel’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe debut couldn’t have gone any better, both for his jubilant team and the rider himself.
After a turbulent 2025 and a highly publicised move from Soudal Quick-Step, this was the ideal boost for the rider seeking to reinvigorate his Grand Tour career and kick-start his season. Of course, the opposition he will face later in the season will be tougher, and the pressure will mount as we approach the Tour de France in July, but at this moment, none of that matters. This was about building confidence, making smooth transitions, and understanding how the wheels turn on a new team.
In this analysis, we hear directly from the rider and those around him at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and examine what lessons can be learned from the early stages of this new project.
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I first heard that Evenepoel would debut at the Challenge Mallorca on the eve of his Red Bull media day in December. The earlier reports in the Belgian press did not suggest this, and it was a surprise to learn from several reliable sources that the TT world champion would return to the island the following month to make his team debut.
Granted, the inclusion of the TTT was expected to be a major factor in the Tour de France later this summer, but the fact that Visma, Ineos, a strong UAE, and Lidl-Trek all skipped the race suggested that being on the island for the 23.8km test wasn’t exactly crucial.
However, stepping back, you can absolutely understand the team’s judgment. The Challenge Mallorca is a gentle opening in almost every way. The terrain is undulating but relatively calm, the weather is usually appealing, and you can pick and choose the days you actually race. You can’t do that at any other series or stage race in the calendar, and that level of flexibility meant that Evenepoel could align his fitness with the conditions and any last-minute alterations. That was backed up by what he effectively told me when we sat down together before the race.