MUR-DE--BRETAGNE, France -- Mattia Cattaneo, a key teammate of Tour de France contender Remco Evenepoel, has withdrawn from the race.

The latest chapter of the long-running saga regarding Remco Evenepoel 's possible signing with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe for 2026 has seen the CEO of his current team, Soudal-QuickStep flatly deny rumours of a possible buyout of his contract - only for fresh and considerably strengthened claims of the opposite to emerge a few hours later.

Remco Evenepoel won the stage five time trial at the Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar seized yellow and saw his rival Jonas Vingegaard lose more than a minute on the roads around Caen.

"I wouldn’t say my performance was disappointing, but I would have liked to have fresher legs in the final kilometer - I wish the race had finished under the fl

Remco Evenepoel stormed back into contention for a place on the final podium at the 2025 Tour de France, winning the 33km time trial around Caen and marking a huge turnaround after a difficult opening stage.