How do you beat Remco Evenepoel in a time trial? - The last four times the world champion has been beaten in a race against the clock
CyclingThursday, 17 September 2026 at 20:00
Remco Evenepoel is the undisputed favourite to win Sunday's elite men time trial World Championships for the fourth time in his career. In doing so, the Belgian rider could earn his fourth consecutive rainbow jersey.
Renowned as the best time trialist of this generation, the Red Bull rider has rarely been beaten in this discipline across Grand Tours and stage races, particularly in the past three years.
However, a World Championships victory isn't easily earned; it requires significant training, equipment preparation, and an optimal riding position. Evenepoel's unique aero position and shape on the bike combined with his dedication to the craft, have helped him become the best in the world.
Heading into Sunday's race, many fans and riders will be wondering how to defeat the Belgian? It doesn't happen often, but other riders have managed to best him in a race against the clock.
We've looked at the 26-year-old's last four time trial defeats - excluding a mountain time trial defeat in the 2025 Tour de France when he was suffering from illness and abandoned the following stage.
Evenepoel has won three time trial World Championships in a row
2025 Tour de Romandie Prologue
The last time Evenepoel was beaten in an individual time trial (excluding the 2025 Tour de France illness-affected stage 11) was back in the 2025 Tour de Romandie Prologue. The 3.4 kilometre test favours the powerful and explosive compared to the bigger engines.
Samuel Watson won the stage; Evenepoel finished in eighth place. He won by 4.43 seconds over him, with a mix of riders separated by just a handful of seconds, including Stefan Kung, Iyo Oliveira and Ivan Romeo.
In this instance, the way to beat Evenepoel seemed to be the relatively short distance, giving the Belgian less time or road ahead to hurt the other competitors. Although Evenepoel does often start tie trials well and lead throughout, it's often when other riders are also looking at managing their effort across a longer course. In this instance, he was beaten in an all-out effort of less than five minutes.
2024 Tour de France Stage 21
At the climax of Evenepoel's first-ever Tour de France participation, he lost the stage 21 time trial in Nice, finishing in just third place on the day. However, he was behind none other than Jonas Vingegaard and the stage winner, Tadej Pogačar.
Much like that Tour as a whole, he finished third-best throughout in what is considered the most intense Tour of recent years. On the 33-kilometre mountain course, Pogacar put over a minute into both him and Vingegaard.
Defeating Evenepoel here involved a few factors worth noting. On the final day of a Grand Tour, he isn't in the best shape for a race against the clock. However, a climbing-heavy course that suited Pogacar on the way to his first yellow jersey since 2021 proved to be his undoing.
Remco Evenepoel
2024 Itzulia Basque Country Stage 1
The Tour wasn't the first time Evenepoel tasted defeat, he was also beaten in a time trial that spring. He finished fourth on stage 1 of the Itzulia Basque Country, missing the podium by 11 seconds.
Primoz Roglic took victory that day, with Jay Vine and Mattias Skjelmose completing the podium. A largely flat 10 kilometre course that day seemed suited to his credentials and he came close.
A short climb at the beginning of the stage could explain it, with Evenepoel losing 9 seconds by the first time split and never turned the tables from there.
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2023 Chrono des Nations
Looking further back, it would be back in 2023 when Evenepoel was last beaten at the season's end as he finished second in the Chrono des Nations one-day time trial as he finished runner-up.
He lost by just 13 seconds to then 19-year-old Joshua Tarling, who announced himself as one of cycling's next time trial talents. The 45.4 kilometre course played into Tarling's hands, with a flat course helping the young Briton keep a high average speed of 52.38 km/h.
In this case, a longer flat course didn't work in Evenepoel's favour. Although he won't face such a long parcours on Sunday, this demonstrated that over an effort of almost an hour, he can be bested by time trial specialists capable of sustaining a longer effort.
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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- It was a high likelihood he would have won the 2023 Giro had he not come down with covid. By the time he had withdrawn he had won two stages and was leading on gc by almost a minute. I doubt Tadej races the Giro next year. If Tadej and Jonas don't race it and Remco can keep the rubber side down he has another good chance to win the race.awp18-09-2026
- UAE asked Wellens to do the late races before Pog crashed. For sure they would like Del Toro to win, but they did not suddenly ask Wellens not to ride the Worlds when Pog withdrew.Hills3317-09-2026
- It is obvious. UAE want del Toro to win so they can have the Rainbow Bands in the team. Wellens would assist Remco in denying del Toro, potentially being a satellite rider (and a long range attack is what is best for Remco). UAE don't want that, so are sending Wellens to the CRO race so he can't help Evenepoel
Rafionain-Glas17-09-2026 - So Belgian and therefore so ironic. Start by getting along with or accepting each other and maybe representing your country won’t be such dilemma. Funny how when we hear about this kind of thing it’s always from the same countries, Belgium for the men and The Netherlands for the women, unless of course you count Tadej’s refusal.Mistermaumau17-09-2026
- What was funny was that Red Bull's official news website didn't state how long the contract is forRafionain-Glas17-09-2026
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- luke and tom on Race Communique podcast talk about the race and the way it was ridden and how it frazzled the leaders more than normal-- super interesting segment I thoughtjad2917-09-2026
- I'm surpised we havn't seen any articles about that outburst, it was one of his best! He was screaming so loud you could hear it through the footage, full on psycho mode.jad2917-09-2026
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ScottG17-09-2026
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