Mattia Cattaneo, a key teammate of Tour de France contender Remco Evenepoel, has withdrawn from the race. The versatile Cattaneo, who rides for Evenepoel's Soudal Quick-Step, was seen struggling at the back of the peloton during Friday's Stage 7 of the three-week race between Saint-Malo and Mûr-de-Bretagne.

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.

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.

Race-against-the-clock specialist Remco Evenepoel produced a stunning display of power to win the first time trial of the Tour de France on Wednesday and defending champion Tadej Pogačar cemented his favorite status by grabbing the yellow jersey.

"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

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.