Does Remco Evenepoel's Tour de France form signal he can challenge Pogacar in one-day races or win a future grand tour?
Cycling
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."
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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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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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