European Championships 2026 men's and women's elite time trial 2026 preview, profile, favourites & predictions - Who will take over Evenepoel's reign
Cycling
On Wednesday the 7th of October, the European Championships will give way to the time trial events. All will take place on the same day, and below you will find previews for the men's elite and women's elite individual time trials.
The men's elite individual time trial was first held in 2016, with Jonathan Castroviejo taking the first win. The event has now been running for 10 years, having seen Victor Campenaerts win on two occasions, and then Remco Evenepoel winning it in 2019 - his maiden season as a professional.
Then the following years Stefan Küng won both titles, beating Rémi Cavagna and later on Filippo Ganna - who hasn't conquered the title to this day. Stefan Bissegger maintained Switzerland's momentum with the win in 2022. Joshua Tarling won in 2023, Edoardo Affini won the race in 2024 and in 2025 it was Remco Evenepoel who took his second title, ahead of Filippo Ganna.
The women's race was first held in the same year, with Ellen van Dijk quickly becoming an historic figure by winning the first four editions consecutively all the way until 2019. In fact there have only been four winners in ten editions.
Anna van der Breggen won the title in 2020 and Lotte Kopecky has won it in 2024. In 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025 it was Switzerland's Marlen Reusser who came out the strongest.
Profile: Sencur - Sencur
Sencur - Sencur, 22 kilometers
The course is 22 kilometers long, very short for the traditional standards of a race of this dimension. Both men's and women's races will take place over the same course, one that is not fit for the pure specialists.
The route includes the decisive part of the road race, with the climb to Mazjanca included early on in the effort. The ascent is 2 kilometers long at just over 10% and is followed by a plateau section. There will be a very fast descent and then the final kilometers are flat. Overall, a course where climbing ability is required, and a mix of both abilities will be crucial for the win.
Preview men's time trial European Championships 2026
In the absence of Remco Evenepoel and Filippo Ganna, the race will be wide open. Ethan Hayter, Jakob Söderqvist, Stefan Küng, Primoz Roglic, Callum Thornley, Ilan van Wilder and Iván Romeo will all be contenders to take a medal, and the winner might come as a surprise.
An in-depth preview will follow...
Preview women's time trial European Championships 2026
Marlen Reusser has been virtually unbeatable against the clock this year and will be the main favourite to win the race. Elisa Longo Borghini and Katarzyna Niewiadoma could be her biggest rivals on the day, taking into consideration how much difference the climb can make.
An in-depth preview will follow...
List of winners of men's and women's time trial European Championships
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 2025 | Remco Evenepoel | Filippo Ganna | Niklas Larsen |
| 2024 | Edoardo Affini | Stefan Küng | Mattia Cattaneo |
| 2023 | Joshua Tarling | Stefan Bissegger | Wout van Aert |
| 2022 | Stefan Bissegger | Stefan Küng | Filippo Ganna |
| 2021 | Stefan Küng | Filippo Ganna | Remco Evenepoel |
| 2020 | Stefan Küng | Rémi Cavagna | Victor Campenaerts |
| 2019 | Remco Evenepoel | Kasper Asgreen | Edoardo Affini |
| 2018 | Victor Campenaerts | Jonathan Castroviejo | Maximilian Schachmann |
| 2017 | Victor Campenaerts | Maciej Bodnar | Ryan Mullen |
| 2016 | Jonathan Castroviejo | Victor Campenaerts | Moreno Moser |
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 2025 | Marlen Reusser | Mie Bjørndal Ottestad | Mischa Bredewold |
| 2024 | Lotte Kopecky | Ellen van Dijk | Christina Schweinberger |
| 2023 | Marlen Reusser | Anna Henderson | Christina Schweinberger |
| 2022 | Marlen Reusser | Ellen van Dijk | Riejanne Markus |
| 2021 | Marlen Reusser | Ellen van Dijk | Lisa Brennauer |
| 2020 | Anna van der Breggen | Ellen van Dijk | Marlen Reusser |
| 2019 | Ellen van Dijk | Lisa Klein | Lucinda Brand |
| 2018 | Ellen van Dijk | Anna van der Breggen | Trixi Worrack |
| 2017 | Ellen van Dijk | Ann-Sophie Duyck | Anna van der Breggen |
| 2016 | Ellen van Dijk | Anna van der Breggen | Olga Zabelinskaya |
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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- i dont give a monkeys about the poll ,its simple i dont follow him or his team.
Davide03-10-2026 - PR to Tudor hardly means the end of WorldTour, they basically get invited to everything. Lidl-Trek German now??? Instead of asking if their football team is white enough, maybe that crowd should ask if their cycling team is German enough. American owner, main sponsor Hardly a German rider or staff member or equipment provider. Anyone have background to this decision, was it gifted to guarantee a long-term commitment from Lidl the way Ineos brown-nosed Netcompany?Jumpyjohn03-10-2026
- What a shame Pogačar can't fulfill his promise. It'll have to be next year
Rafionain-Glas03-10-2026 - Maybe their mechanics are willing to step in? Or they can convert a few on the bench of ManU.Jumpyjohn03-10-2026
- Opening a gap over Pidcock (who must know the course by heart now) on a technical descent must take some doing.Jumpyjohn03-10-2026
- This poll placed here is like asking something about Trump on Fox, really unbiased ;-)Jumpyjohn03-10-2026
- I will first look at results, not budgets to judge who is falling behind. I’m no fan of teams increasing budgets because others do, it’s an unhealthy spiral that can only lead to problems and complications. If cycling were as strict with spending rules as some other sports, UAE would now be digging themselves out a City sized hole.Jumpyjohn03-10-2026
- You forgot the probably fake doping disqualification at another Giro to ensure an Italian win. Probably worse than the individual hitting him to ensure a French TdF winner as it was orchestrated by cycling officials. I wouldn’t be surprised if mafia and betting had something to do with it but it was a smart enough tactic to avoid any kind of suspicion or investigation, almost impossible to prove but knowing the way the world and humanity works, completely plausible.Jumpyjohn03-10-2026
- You’re giving yourself away (as usual) with all the details and expressions we’re used to here.Jumpyjohn03-10-2026
- Ask Skjelmose, buy Seixas.Jumpyjohn03-10-2026
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