CyclingUpToDate Podcast: "It doesn't make any sense" - Remco Evenepoel advised to choose classics-Tour combo over Giro
Cycling
The Giro d'Italia route reveal that took place this Tuesday morning in Rome showcased a climber-friendly route. On the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rúben Silva and Gavin Quinn agreed that the route suits him much less than the Tour de France, but that does not mean he will be absent from the Corsa Rosa.
"Evenepoel should go to the Tour and the World Championships," Silva stated.
"I think the Giro actually suits him decently well. He would win both time trials comfortably, I think. And the mountain stages, remember those stages in the Apennines, they're stages where you're going to focus on one big effort, the final climb, lots of summit finishes, lots of steep climbs where you can pace it out".
The route features over 55 kilometers of individual time trials, one slightly mountainous in the first week with 19 kilometers in distance; and one with 37 kilometers in distance heading towards Milano on week two.
There are also many high mountain stages spread all throughout the race, including a mammoth mountain stage on the 16th day which includes the returning Passo di Gavia and a double ascent of the Passo del Mortirolo.
"I think the Aprica stage (16, ed.) could be really hard on him, but if he has his race weight down like he had at the Tour, the steep climbs aren't going to be an issue," Silva argued.
Above all, if Evenepoel had his best form, he argued that the race's weather unpredictability when comparing to the Tour de France would be a larger obstacle. "Maybe the altitude or bad weather..."
Might the Giro's mountains be too much for Remco Evenepoel?
Gavin Quinn, on the opposite side of the spectrum, believes the mountains could be too much for the Olympic Champion. "I don't fully agree in terms of Remco Evenepoel's potential with these mountains, I think he'll struggle in a few stages, actually. Particularly that stage 14, 16, even 18..."
"Like multiple mountain ascents, there are chances for him to maybe if he loses ground and climbs to come back on the ascents". However, summit finishes on ascents such as those in the Apennines and the final mountaintop finale at Monte Zoncolan could prove deadly for his ambitions.
"But seven mountaintop finishes, several of them after attritional stages... The Remco Evenepoel we've seen in the final weeks of the 2026 season would struggle".
"But if he comes in his 2026 Tour de France shape, well, for me, that's almost a bigger asterisk, because it's coming in May rather than July".
Perhaps the biggest question is regarding the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's preparation. In 2026, he appeared to be at his best form during the Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race; and then again at the Tour de France after shedding some of his classics weight.
Remco Evenepoel will have to choose between the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France
Classics come in the way of Giro for Evenepoel
Doing such preparation for the Giro, for a rider like Evenepoel, would automatically mean he would have to abandon his ambitions in the classics. Adding to the fact that the Tour de France route is a perfect fit for him, according to the duo, it makes it a rather obvious choice.
"That's where I'm doubtful on Evenepoel, and that's where I think the Tour de France is a greater pull now, with the added time trial kilometers for him there [...] Evenepoel, if he wants to do a Giro full, even though it's not the worst route for him, it's not the most attractive option right now, because the Classics might have to be pushed aside".
Silva argued that career-wise, he expected Evenepoel to aim for the Giro. But the route reveals have turned everything around:
"When the Tour finished, I have in mind that he should do the Giro. In that form, without Pogacar, he can win the Giro. And he can then prepare for the World Championships as he did in 2025".
"Looking at the route of the Giro, if you're asking Evenepoel to race the Giro, you're asking him to sacrifice the entire classics block. I think he does not want to do that".
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Ultimately, Evenepoel hasn't proven in the past to be able to race two Grand Tours at the highest level before, unlike the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaad who could on paper combine both races.
"And to sacrifice the Tour de France, essentially, regardless if he would race it or not, he wouldn't be there [to win]. And it's a perfect Tour route for him. It doesn't make any sense," he added on Evenepoel's potential return to the Giro in 2027.
"I think in career wise, it makes all sense to aim for the Giro. Now that everything's laid out here, 2028. 2028 with the Olympic Games, I think then it makes sense here".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
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