Almost a decade after Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe brought in their last superstar, Peter Sagan, who raised them to a new level, team boss Ralph Denk is hoping that the arrival of Remco Evenepoel can have the same effect.
Sagan's arrival at Bora in 2017 coincided with their step up to the WorldTour, and with him came new levels of success; the team's win tally jumped to 33 in his first year, and he won some of the biggest races, including Paris-Roubaix, several stages of the Tour de France and at the World Championships.
And it wasn't just Sagan's own results that he brought in, but with his reputation preceding him, most of the pressure was on the Slovak to deliver, allowing for their other riders to develop without the spotlight and the team to find its winning peak in 2019 with 47 – only four of which came from Sagan.
Obviously, Evenepoel is a different beast from the versatile sprinter and one-day star that three-time world champion Sagan was, as a GC rider, time trial specialist and hilly Classics contender.
Their racing styles aren't particularly similar either, with Sagan's playful showmanship contrasting nicely against Evenepoel's calculated brutality, especially against the clock, but what they share is excellence, arriving at Denk's team as one of the very best riders in the world at the time.
"First, when Sagan came in, it was our first year in the WorldTour. It was an adventure, and on the other hand, there were some very good learnings for me, because Sagan was our front man and leader, and he took all the pressure from the others," recalled Denk at Red Bull's media day in Mallorca last week.
"In his slipstream, we developed Emanuel Buchmann, Sam Bennett, Pascal Ackermann, and a lot of others, and they became pro in our infrastructure, and they are really successful.
"We can see now when Remco arrived, that took pressure even maybe from Florian [Lipowitz] – OK, the Germans are aiming high for Florian – but Remco is the Olympic champion, a world champion.
"An example is 2019: our best year in terms of victories with 47, and just four were won by Sagan, the rest were all the others: Schachmann, Buchmann, Ackermann, Bennett, guys like that, and this is what we are hoping now will have similarities."
The German team boss chased the Belgian's signature for several years, but finally lured him away from Soudal-QuickStep this summer, one year earlier than the end of his contract. Now he has to put 'Project Remco' into full flow, and aside from trying to win the Tour de France with him, ensure that the whole team improves with him.
'All boats rise in a high tide'
Zak Dempster is the man in charge of extracting the best out of Evenepoel and his peers, as the team's new Chief of Sports, and he's not downplaying how the Belgian's impact could prove much bigger than just the wins he achieves.
That could specifically come from the all-out internal fight which should ensue when the season starts to try and make it onto the Tour de France eight-man roster.
With two podium finishers now leading their charge in Evenepoel and Lipowitz, only the most suitable will be afforded a spot to join Red Bull at cycling's biggest race, be that in their capabilities as a domestique or how well a rider operates with either of the leaders.
Dempster wants much more than eight riders in fighting shape for the Tour.
"I mean, all boats rise in a high tide; if we've only got eight guys ready for the tour, then it's going to be an issue," he told Cyclingnews, of the effect that Evenepoel could bring.
"You want to a level of, let's say, competition, but at the same time, we need to prioritise how we're going to be successful. We just can't take six potential stage winners with Remco and Lipo.
"Also, given the way Tour's parcours is, it's going to be difficult, but not impossible, for Jordi [Meeus] to be selected – we'll give him the chance to do so, but it's just the way that route is. But definitely, the aim is to have more than eight guys ready."
Now, paraphrasing an aphorism made famous by US President John F Kennedy in 1963, that "a rising tide lifts all boats" may be typical cycling chat when a headline rider joins a new team, which we have already seen prove true in the past year with Tom Pidcock's arrival at Q36.5.
But Red Bull are starting from a point of already being one of the richest teams in the sport, with Lipowitz and Primož Roglič finishing on the podium and winning Grand Tours the past two seasons, though it does feel as though there is heaps of potential still to unlock from the money spent.
Evenepoel effect already in action
To Dempster's point of the desire to make it onto the Tour team, Evenepoel's influence can already be seen in the words of Finn Fisher-Black, who is hoping to not only improve his own standing in the team but also make it into the eight to support the big star.
"Now we have Remco, that's something I'm looking forward to as well, building a relationship with him and racing with him as much as I can," Fisher-Black told Cyclingnews, having ridden for the sport's best rider at his previous team, Tadej Pogačar.
"I mean, I have my own goals in the season, but also I really like helping a big leader like that, as I have with Tadej in the past. With racing the Grand Tours, we're not so sure yet, but to be a part of the Tour team would be the goal for me, and what I would be aiming for. But as you know, the selection, as always, you never know until the last minute."
He's certainly one of many who'll be looking to be part of the rising tide in 2026 and following in the slipstream of the Belgian.
"I'm a big believer in how people winning around you brings the whole team up, and I think Remco leading by example and showing that we can win these races as a team, can really have an effect on everyone else and on all the levels," he added.
"I think it'll kind of bring the whole team up, and as the ball starts to roll, you start to see maybe in some smaller races, the guys you don't hear about as much, winning as well, because they're in this winning environment, and that can be really valuable for a team like this."
Jai Hindley, Evenepoel's roommate at the Mallorca camp, also noted the immediate impact that the Belgian's presence – both good and bizarre – has brought even to their first training camp.
"Actually, I've been rooming with him, so I've been getting to know him a bit, and he's a nice, good guy," said Hindley on the media day.
"He's also pretty open and fitting into the team pretty well. I think the exposure for the team is also massive. It's one of the best riders in the world and a super popular rider, so for sure, with that comes a lot of media presence and a lot of old mates filming you getting ready on the bus or whatever – it's pretty random, isn't it?"
In any case, with the arrival of Evenepoel, Denk may not directly get his wish of winning the Tour de France immediately – he may have to wait some years for that yet – but on his pursuit of becoming the most attractive team in the sport, the Belgian's pull is working to that already.
Still, though, with heaps of sponsorship money on the line, the results will have to come. The Grand Tours have been solid for the German team in recent years, but it's everywhere else where ground has to be made up on the likes of UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Leasa a Bike.
Throughout the Classics specifically, Red Bull have underperformed, but also rankings-wise, sixth in the UCI's standings for 2025 – behind XDS Astana – is low for what the team is aiming for and where their budget places them. Perhaps the Belgian's arrival can catapult them up, but also catalyse a path to the top with all 30 of their riders performing all-season round.
