"I think it's pretty straightforward" - Evenepoel not letting illness speculation skew his bid for historic European title
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel isn't letting speculation around illness take him off course in his bid to make history at Sunday's European Championships elite men's road race. Of all the major championship races to be won by the Belgian rider, the European road title is the only one left on his hit list.
Winning the World Championships and Olympics road race and time trials in recent seasons, he won the European time trial title last year and took silver behind Tadej Pogacar in the road race. As favourite this time around, he can make it eight out of eight wins with Belgium and round-off a polished section of his palmares.
But after a disappointing performance in montreal, speculation emerged that the 26-year-old was suffering from an illness and that the sub-par performance came as a result of that. Evenepoel and the Belgium camp have dismissed the claim as Evenepoel simply points to a bad day in Canada.
"No, honestly, I didn't feel anything strange. Obviously, I was a bit tired after the travel and all that stuff and the race, but no illness normally, so I think all good," he told CyclingProNet before the race.
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"Yeah, I think so. It was a very hard one, obviously. Not my best day, like I said before, but I think I did the maximum to be as recovered as possible and do the best to try and win today."
The European Championships course is arguably better for the Red Bull rider, with fewer kilometres and a tough but less attritional climb.
Evenepoel thinks that his team can manage the race and that the climb will do the talking. With rolling terrain and a descent to the finish afterwards, he wants to take the victory into his own hands.
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Evenepoel expects breakaway battle on flat
"Yeah, I mean, normally I should be able to ride on every course, but today it's really like there's only one part where the biggest difference can be made, so I think it's pretty straightforward how the race will develop. We have a good plan and we will try to go for it.
"Quite a flat start, so I suppose there will be some fight for the breakaway and then after that we will see how it goes on the laps.
He added: "I think the climb invites to go hard and we'll have to adapt to situations, but I think we are confident that we can do well today."
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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Senna196004-10-2026 - Thank you, almost as if someone reads my posts ;-) The trouble with cycling news is people focus more on form than content. I know there isn’t always much but sometimes the missing is quite interesting and important to understand the scene.Jumpyjohn04-10-2026
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