If Remco Evenepoel's transfer from Soudal-QuickStep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is like a 1000-piece jigsaw still to be completed, a key corner will likely fall into place on August 1 when Sven Vanthourenhout will join the team's performance and management staff.
On Wednesday evening Soudal-QuickStep team manager Jorgen Foré argued that Evenepoel has a contract with the Belgian team for 2026 but Evenepoel is almost certain to spark a transfer after the Tour de France and buy out his contract so he can join Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Ineos Grenadiers were also linked to Evenepoel but have accepted he will move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Under Belgian employment law, Evenepoel will have to pay a year's salary and perhaps a little more to leave Soudal-QuickStep a year before the end of his contract.
A figure of seven million Euro has been suggested as the price of changing teams, with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe likely to cover the cost as part of a four-year mega-deal that will see Evenepoel become the German team's new leader and Tour de France contender.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk brought in a swath of new performance staff and some new riders after Red Bull bought a majority stake in the team last spring but the team has struggled so far in 2025.
Primoz Roglič and Jai Hindley crashed hard at the Giro d'Italia and the team struggled in the Classics. Meanwhile, Roglič has played down his GC ambitions at the Tour de France after giving up 2:35 to Tadej Pogačar in six stages.
Evenepoel's former Soudal-QuickStep teammate Gianni Moscon has already moved to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Matteo Cattaneo and several key staff and coaches are expected to move with Evenepoel to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe for 2026.
Vanthourenhout is the latest part of the puzzle, even if his arrival is not dependent on Evenepoel's eventual signing.
The former Belgian national coach enjoyed a successful spell with Remco Evenepoel, which ended with two gold medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Vanthourenhout opted to leave the Belgian federation last year but surprisingly failed to land a senior position with a WorldTour team. He was not wanted at Soudal-QuickStep, perhaps as the tension rose with Evenepoel this winter.
According to the Flemish media, Vanthourenhout will take up a hybrid team manager and sporting role from August 1.
"I have a new team. I have an agreement to work in cycling in the future, but it's not up to me to announce that," Vanthourenhout hinted recently on the 'Vive Le Vélo' evening chat show in Belgium.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe tried to deny the news of Vanthourenhout's arrival but the Flemish media are sure of his strategic role alongside Evenepoel in the team.
According to Het Laatste Nieuws, Vanthourenhout has already held talks with Denk in recent weeks. Vanthourenhout would work alongside current sporting director Ralph Aldag and the team's performance staff and directeur sportif.
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