After Cyclingnews spotted Remco Evenepoel's name sticker on a new Specialized Tarmac SL9 just days before the Tour-Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, speculation rose as to whether he could make a U-turn and start the Dauphiné after removing it from his schedule earlier in the season.
Evenepoel was supposed to be taking an unusual path to the Tour de France, opting not to race at all after the Classics and instead focusing fully on training. With the Dauphiné kicking off on Sunday morning and him not being on the start line, that will be the case, but it still begs the question: why is his bike at the race?
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe quashed any rumour of a late change on the eve of the race, confirming that it was with only his teammates' equipment in France for logistical ease, as he will be conducting recons after the race.
"After the fuss surrounding De Ronde [Tour of Flanders], people think we are going to do it again, but the bike is here because it is logistically easy," said Sports Director Klaas Lodewyck to Sporza.
"His bike is in the truck. We have a few reconnaissance rides planned after this race. I'll stay here, and then we can easily take the bike with us."
It would have been the second time this season that Evenepoel and Red Bull were not totally transparent about his race programme, after his shock appearance at the Tour of Flanders was only confirmed on the Wednesday before the Monument. But they said explicitly that the Flanders surprise would be a one-time thing, and they were true to their word.
According to Lodewyck, everything was on track for the former Tour podium finisher after his lengthy block in Sierra Nevada. On June 5, Evenepoel's Strava revealed he was still training in Spain, near Calpe.
"Remco raced a lot in the spring, so we want to take our time now,” said Lodewyck to Het Laatste Nieuws. "We didn’t want to rush in the run-up to the Tour, which has always happened in recent years.
"We also didn’t want to come here racing with the handbrake on; he isn’t a fan of that himself. We are on the right track. Remco is mainly putting in the hours now and working on his intensity."
In Evenepoel's absence, Red Bull were racing the Dauphiné without their main leader, but also without either Florian Lipowitz or Primož Roglič. Instead, they started in Vizille with the returning Maxim Van Gils, Dani Martinez, Luke Tuckwell, Haimar Etxeberria, Gianni Vermeersch, Callum Thornley and Finn Fisher-Black.
