CyclingUpToDate Podcast: "It's not an anti-Pogacar route, but it's certainly not one that's built for him" - 2027 Tour de France route reviewed
Cycling
This past week saw the presentation of the 2027 Tour de France in Paris. The time trial-heavy course raised questions on who would be benefitted from it. On the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rúben Silva and Gavin Quinn have answered the question that's been asked the most: Is it an 'anti-Pogacar' Tour route?
"I mean, an anti-Pogacar tour is speculation, because there's, in my opinion, there's no such thing," Quinn argued. "There can be Tours or races that don't necessarily suit Pogacar or feed into his ultra strengths - which is high mountain top finishes, multi-mountain stages with maybe a shallow climb at the end, like we saw in the Tourmalet stage this year, but there isn't that stage".
Instead, a route with less mountain stages - placed later in the race; more time trialing kilometers and more sprint stages. "There's less multi-mountain stages, but you can't say it's an anti-Pogacar route. You can say that's maybe a favourite characteristic of other GC riders, but it certainly doesn't hinder Tadej at the same time".
The two have agreed that in the end, the Slovenian is too complete as a rider to truly be hindered by any Grand Tour route at this point in time. "I don't think I'm alone in thinking that, and I'd be really interested to hear if there's an argument that it really actually is anti-Pogacar".
"Because you could argue even a time trial, like we're looking at stage seven here, is not Pogacar's wheelhouse, but the likelihood he's still going to be top five on this stage. So yeah, it's not an anti-Pogacar route, but it's certainly not one that's built for him, if that makes sense".
"You can't build an anti-Pogacar route unless you have 21 sprint stages, and even then he's not the worst sprinter in the world," he joked. "We've seen him try and mix it up as well, so there's no anti-Pogacar route".
Can Pogacar be put under pressure?
However there are separate questions that lie. The duo have discussed them in-depth on this Monday's episode, in which they have discussed how well the route suits Remco Evenepoel; how Paul Seixas may head into the race with an even stronger lineup; and how Jonas Vingegaard appears to have been sidelined as Pogacar's main rival to fight for the yellow jersey.
Nevertheless, on the back of race director Christian Prudhomme's comments following the presentation, Rúben Silva believes that the organizers have made it clear that they intend on not seeing a Pogacar-dominated race for a fourth year in a row - and that instead, the changes are being disguised as a 'keeping suspense as long as possible' argument.
Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar at this year's Tour de France podium
"It brings me back to the Team Sky years in which there was a lot of thoughts on reducing the time trial kilometers, there were thoughts in banning power meters because they didn't want the mountain trains and steady pace up the climbs..."
"It brings me back a little bit to that, but in a non-direct way, in a way as in 'we want to keep suspense as long as possible'." The large time trial before the race reaches the mountains left no doubt to Silva, who believes the route was also designed with Paul Seixas' specialties in mind.
But ultimately, Remco Evenepoel showed his best level ever at this year's Tour, and if he is to repeat it in 2027, the Tour's route could actually see him put pressure on the Slovenian.
"Evenpoel seems to have surged this year if he's able to repeat his performance next year as potentially Pogacar's biggest rival, because he can beat Pogacar and take time on him in the time trial - and that may be the only terrain in which any rider comparable to Pogacar can actually put them under pressure".
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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- Tadej said it. and he also looked beleaguered after last year's tour, and came back in the world and Lombardia crushing it. and he is also the one that begged to race euros. and is racing a crit end of the month. and to the point below, it is irrelevant. his injuries do not hold a candle to the others mentioned in the headline. Roll's comment is idiotic.mij27-10-2026
- It will absolutely change his tt position. Call me out if I'm wrong, when we start seeing him training on the tt bike, you will see.awp27-10-2026
- please , come on now! The Tour begins July 2, 2027!!! It is still 2026 !!!! Get a hobby or something.dave26-10-2026
- How is this relevant? Perhaps you are doing a Coleridge but not poetic
Rafionain-Glas26-10-2026 - Brilliantly putRafionain-Glas26-10-2026
- vingegaard will get humiliated. he might not even make the podium. he should retire, or accept being handed down the ranks.Ketterechts26-10-2026
- Bull crap...his C7 injury won't affect his TT position!frieders326-10-2026
- blah blah blah is all I see in your comment!frieders326-10-2026
- i thought they were cycling journalists. either they don‘t know the basics or they don‘t write their reports. either way suboptimal … it is not an american team anymore!Ketterechts26-10-2026
- Quiz, who said "When I watched the Worlds and the Euros, it made me miss racing of course, but I’d say that the older I get, the easier it becomes to stay away from racing and find other things I enjoy." Clue, not Elie Isabit in the doghouse now for supposing he can second guess MVDP, who has the added complication of women having a say these days in his circumstances, something Fien might have explained to him if he’d bothered asking, hope he doesn’t get a talking to for that. And speaking of that, I noticed he celebrated 10 years together in 2023 and yet in 2017 he was definitely with someone else, could get messy tonight. Bye for nowJumpyjohn26-10-2026
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