'Never, never, never' - Tour de France legend fears 'small, simmering conflict' after Remco Evenepoel outburst at team-mate Florian Lipowitz
Published 10/07/2026 at 18:23 GMT+1
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Remco Evenepoel insists there are no lingering issues with Florian Lipowitz after publicly criticising his Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team-mate - but former Tour de France stage winner Jens Voigt fears the disagreement could leave a "small, simmering conflict" within the team.
Highlights: Pogacar takes Stage 6 after dominating the Tourmalet
Video credit: TNT Sports
The two-time Olympic champion admitted he was "angry" after Stage 6 when Lipowitz declined to lead him out in the closing kilometre as Evenepoel chased valuable bonus seconds.
"I had asked for a leadout, and I didn’t get one," Evenepoel fumed to Sporza at the finish.
"Yes, I was angry, and rightly so. In the Tour of Catalonia, I rode on the front for him for 30 kilometres. I asked him to ride on the front for one kilometre, and that wasn't possible. That made me angry, and it will have to be thoroughly discussed tonight."
Earlier in the stage, Lipowitz had climbed more strongly than Evenepoel on the Col du Tourmalet before reaching the summit alongside Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM).
Evenepoel fought back on the descent to rejoin the group, but afterwards expressed frustration at both the lack of cooperation in the chase for Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and the absence of support from his own team-mate in the battle for bonus seconds atop the final climb.
Ahead of Stage 7, however, both riders sought to draw a line under the incident.
"It was pretty obvious that the group was not collaborating perfectly to catch Jonas," Evenepoel told TNT Sports.
"I think if everybody would have worked well together we could have caught him and the gap to second place would be smaller than it is now.
"I think in general, the team and myself are happy with how the day developed."
Lipowitz echoed that message, telling Eurosport Germany: "We have talked already on the bus yesterday and solved everything. In the end it was a super hard day and we can be happy with the performance.
"I think the atmosphere is still good and everyone is happy about a more quiet day today. I would not put too much into it."
Evenepoel 'was out of line'
Despite this united front on Friday, Voigt believes the episode may not be forgotten so quickly.
"They're all very close together and really need every second. I understand Remco's frustration at having given away those four seconds and third place to Isaac del Toro," Voigt said on
"Never, never, never do you criticise your team. I'm afraid there's now a small, simmering conflict that can no longer be extinguished."
Twelve-time Tour stage winner Robbie McEwen also questioned Evenepoel's decision to air his frustrations publicly.
McEwen said: "His memory is one of convenience. I’m not a fan of that sort of behaviour within a team. If you are going to say it, just wait until you get on the bus. It was out of line."
"Honestly, it is laughable when someone carries on like that after the finish line about a team-mate. It is simply unprofessional."
Pogacar leads the Tour by 2'42" from Vingegaard, with Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) third at 3'27". Evenepoel is three seconds off the podium in fourth, with Lipowitz in seventh place at 4'00".
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