“Being on the front pulling Pogacar around, that’s a no-no” – Chris Horner dissects Evenepoel’s failed tactics at the European Championships

The European Championships took place last week, and the outcome was not a surprise. Tadej Pogacar was the overwhelming favourite and he didn't disappoint, launching a long range attack in a similar fashion as he did one week earlier at the World Championships and soloed to victory.

Former professional cyclist and Vuelta a España winner Chris Horner provided an in-depth analysis of the race on his podcast, arguing that Remco Evenepoel and the Belgian team played directly into Tadej Pogacar’s hands.

When it came to Belgium, Horner saw a familiar script. “They rode the same tactics they did at the World Championships: aggressive from the start, attacking left, right, and center, wasting bullets and energy early.”

According to Horner, Belgium once again underestimated Pogacar’s ability to exploit their aggression. “If Pogacar is the best climber in the world, you don’t want him attacking you on a seven-kilometer climb at 70 kilometers from the finish. But Belgium made the race hard from the beginning.”

Evenepoel, he explained, ended up doing long turns on the front while Pogacar stayed sheltered. “Remco was pulling for eight, maybe ten kilometers straight, while Pogacar didn’t touch the wind,” Horner said. “You can’t burn your team like that and expect to beat a rider of Pogacar’s level.”

When the Slovenian finally attacked, Evenepoel had nothing left. “Pogacar hit them with one acceleration, then another,” Horner recounted. “Remco looked over his shoulder and knew he was done. Pogacar went solo, and that was the race.”

Horner was blunt about what should have been done differently. “Being on the front pulling Pogacar around, that’s a no-no,” he said. “You have to keep your teammates fresh and hope Pogacar attacks from far out so you can use your numbers. If you end up one-on-one, you lose. You don’t want one-on-one.”

Horner also analyzed Vingegaard’s struggles. The Dane rider came as the recently crowned Vuelta a España winner, but his shape was far from ideal. Even if he had the ambition to fight for the win, the outcome was the complete opposite.

"He got dropped like a rock, he was melted down, blown up, and the group still had 45 guys. The Vuelta finished three weeks ago he had two of those weeks off, so he only had one week to get ready for the Euro Championships. And you're not going to ride the last two days before the European Championships hard, so you got three or four good days training since the Vuelta finished, and you don't know why you got dropped here?" Horner asked.

"I could tell you right now. Two weeks off your bike does not make it work good if you're coming to the European Road Championships and battle against Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, and that's why you got dropped by 45 riders and you were shaking your head in disbelief, that is not the formula," he concluded.