CyclingUpToDate Podcast: Does Remco Evenepoel's Tour de France form signal he can challenge Pogacar in one-day races or win a future grand tour?

Monday, 27 July 2026 at 21:30

Remco Evenepoel and Tadej pogacar after the 2026 Tour de France

On this Monday's latest episode of the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rúben Silva and Gavin Quinn praised Remco Evenepoel's impressive Tour de France performance as he took a deserved second place and two stage wins, ultimately sealing his status as second best behind Tadej Pogacar.

Looking to the future, they pondered whether his Tour form is enough to suggest that he could challenge the world champion in one day races and if other grand tours without Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are his to win.

Evenepoel's unorthodox preparation pays off

The Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe rider took the unusual approach of no racing at all from April, preparing for the Tour de France right down to the last millimeter. And for Rúben Silva, the approach paid huge dividends as he benefited from the less-stress approach.

He said: "Incredible Tour, and not only incredible Tour, everything that he did before the Tour just seems completely justified and it just made sense, it just looked like the perfect preparation - don't race before the Tour.

"Because it's a psychological pressure, really, if you're going to go to Auvergne [Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes], maybe you're not going to win, you're not going to improve a lot from there, and it's the fatigue of that week of racing, the days before the race where you need to prepare, the days after."

"I think Evenepoel is a rider that benefits from having like that super specific preparation, we saw it last fall, he was flying on every single race and he just put in the perfect performance."

Gavin Quinn agreed, claiming that the detail-oriented approach meant the writing was on the wall, meaning that a measured build-up signalled he could reach heights of the 2024 Tour de France - where he finished in third place.

"Yeah, I was a big fan actually of Remco's zero racing preparation because I kind of knew, I thought the writing was on the wall, I thought he was going to come in terrific shape with his science training based preparation, it's kind of what's served him best over the years," Gavin said.

Evenepoel gets stronger as Tour goes on

It wasn't a straightforward Tour for Evenepoel as he was dropped slightly in some of the first and second week's climbs, but it was his response to the race in the third week that caught Rúben Silva's attention as he took mountain-top finish and time trial victories on stages 15 and 16.

Rúben said: "It looked like in the first half of the Tour, his climbing was below that of his rival and that there were fears of him cracking as the race went on, this happened last year, he turned it completely around, no, he got stronger as the race went on, Plateau de Solaison was an incredible performance."

"The Time trial? we were expecting him to win but nevertheless, you have to give him the heads up for that one, and here on the Alpe d'Huez on stage 19, second strongest on GC, here on the final mountain stage, with 5,500 metres of climbing.

"With the high altitude, you have all these variables added in and you think, maybe today is going to be more difficult for him because it's not the natural climber, he's the first of the GC men crossing the finish line and he's levels above Del Toro and Seixas, Skjelmose, Ayuso, of course, Vingegaard isn't here and we can't compare it to him."

For the first time in his career, Remco Evenepoel directly beat Tadej Pogacar in a mountain stage at the Tour de France

As Rúben noted Jonas Vingegaard's absence amongst the general classification contenders following his crash on stage 15, Gavin Quinn couldn't help but wonder if the Belgian could still have challenged Vingegaard in the battle for second place.

"I think if Jonas Vingegaard was still in this race, we're still looking at Remco Evenepoel at least third place, even if I could argue second place because the trajectory of Remco's race showed that he was definitely stronger in the third week.

"We don't know whether Jonas Vingegaard was going to be stronger in the third week or not, so there's definitely a case to say that Remco could have been still second."

Rúben Silva once again came back to the 26-year-old's level as he expressed his desire to see Evenepoel bring that form to the big one-day races later in the season, speculating that over one day, it's possible for him to rival Tadej Pogacar.

"But he just finished this Tour at such a high level and yeah, it's a shame that we're not going to see this form on Evenepoel over the next few days or weeks because it felt like he could, take this form to race the World Championships, like Lombardia, even challenge Pogacar, he's really, really good at this moment."

Can Evenepoel challenge Pogacar or win future grand tours?

Gavin also agreed, expressing that another attempt at the Giro d'Italia or a Tour de France without the all-conquering Slovenian is a winnable prospect for Evenepoel in the future.

"Over one day, I think Remco Evenepoel for sure can challenge Pogacar, especially in those kind of classics, even this kind of form, I think of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, he would have a serious chance.

"I think there is a future in which Remco Evenepoel wins the Tour de France, it might have to be one that Tadej Pogacar isn't at the start line or the finish but there's definitely a future in which he does do so. I would love to see Remco Evenepoel with a full spring preparation for the Giro [d'Italia] for example, I think he has a lot of unfinished business with the Giro and I'd love to see him complete that as well."

A grand tour without Pogacar and Vingegaard is one that should see this iteration of Evenepoel as a deserved favourite, according to Rúben Silva.

He concluded: "It just makes sense, he's won the Vuelta and for several years you've been debating like going to the Giro, taking on the overall classification, it makes sense.

"Because for many years Pogacar and Vingegaard were focusing on the Tour, maybe it's from this year onwards that Evenepoel is not going to have the same luck but it feels like this Evenepoel on any grand tour without Pogacar or Vingegaard, of which there are a few, he could take the win and it would be deserved."

Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist

Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.

His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.

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