"I want to be better than him" - Remco Evenepoel wants to beat Tadej Pogacar and has clear ambition of winning Tour de France
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel is a rider without limits on his ambitions - within common sense - and he believes his move to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe will trigger an improvement. That is what he seeks, so he can reach the level of Tadej Pogacar at some point, and also win a Tour de France.
“If everything keeps going well and if I can have a really good winter, good training camps and the points I’m looking for in the races in spring," Evenepoel shared with Sporza. “If I can show in Catalunya that I’m there to win, like I was in 2023 on the way to the Giro, then I definitely think I can reach that level.”
Evenepoel outlined a simple season, without making his debut in the spring classics and without starting the Giro d'Italia, in which the route seemingly fit him better than the Tour de France. He wants a year without injuries or illnesses hampering him, and he wants to work on his ultimate goal of conquering the Grand Boucle one day.
He is making his season debut at the Challenge Mallorca in the TTT event, which the team will use to prepare for the Tour de France. He will then race the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana, and then a long training stint before the Volta a Catalunya which he sees as a key early-season test to his climbing form.
Then later in the year, he teams up with Florian Lipowitz to take on UAE and Visma. “Florian and I are both very ambitious, but we are two different riders. I’m more explosive, Florian needs to warm up like a diesel. We are opposites and together that can only work out well. We need to complement each other and not work against each other for the objective of this team: to win the Tour one day.”
Evenepoel and Pogacar at the podium of Il Lombardia. @Sirotti
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Better than Pogacar
But to do this he has to be better than Tadej Pogacar at some point, who in recent years has continued to improve. The Slovenian has praised Evenepoel for his move to the German team and believes the Belgian should improve. But Evenepoel doesn't take that statement at face value.
“I picked up on it, yes. But is he serious? He might also be saying it to mess with me," he argues. "I want to be better than him. That’s very difficult, we all know that. But that’s the reason I came here. To take those steps. To go over it, on it and over it.”
“That will take a lot of strength, but I’m very motivated and I really needed this new step to open up a kind of ceiling. I hope I can really break through this year.” If there is any rider who is able to take that step however it should be Evenepoel, a few years younger than Pogacar and Vingegaard, and with a talent that matches the other two in most terrains except the high mountains.
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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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- Seixas appears to be that good but if he isn't (an absolute rival to Pogacar) he would have plenty of company in rising stars that did not go on to fully meet the expectations of many. That Pogacar wasn't the greatest (as great) sooner can't be transposed onto another's development. It may be not that simple.flyer14-11-2026
- I agree that, for Evenepoel, the Euro championship is overshadowed by the slightly off Lombardia and Worlds. However, I disagree that "Ciccone also made a serious mistake at the European Championships" because I don't think he had a win in the bag although he could have won with a perfect bike throw. Guesswork about the finish is not evidence by me for some serious mistake. Sometimes you just barely lose - although Ciccone's sourpuss about it persona was serious.flyer14-11-2026
- I bet you photobombed the video since you are his shadow!frieders314-11-2026
- Skipping the 2027 TDF would be fine in my opinion, and if so, it further reveals that him racing it in 2026 was a good decision. Seixas speaks confident, almost cocky, these days (not meant to be a criticism) and I find it a tad humorous that people (rather commentators) continually chide and advise on how Decathlon should direct and manage Seixas when Paul seems to be calling all his shots since well before this year's TDF.flyer14-11-2026
- Well I just watched this and I thought it was great! If you’re a Pogi fan, like me, you’ll enjoy it. Even if you’re not necessarily a Pogi fan I still recommend it. There’s plenty of new stuff I didn’t know about and I’m a Pogi-maniac! Nice interviews with Pogi & Matteo Trentin too.Lozza14-11-2026
- Well I just watched this and I thought it was great! If you’re a Pogi fan, like me, you’ll enjoy it. Even if you’re not necessarily a Pogi fan I still recommend it. There’s plenty of new stuff I didn’t know about and I’m a Pogi-maniac! Nice interviews with Pogi & Matteo Trentin too. So Zonnewotsit can stick it!Lozza14-11-2026
- Who’s gifting grand tours at UAE? Defo not Pogi! Stage wins maybe.Lozza13-11-2026
- Sepp Kuss Vuelta 2023.Lozza13-11-2026
- they have no expertise with classics, they have no leaders in classics. the classics is dominated by the few Fuori Classe riders where other riders are left with scraps. the Hiring , the salaries dont make sense at all. Same problem as Man Utd. over paid players, egos, very little performanceabstractengineer13-11-2026
- Contract year means you gotta win, at least collect UCI points, helping be damnedabstractengineer13-11-2026
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