"I’m not drawing any conclusions from this" - Remco Evenepoel rues out bad day in Montréal
CyclingMonday, 14 September 2026 at 10:33
Remco Evenepoel finished fifth at the GP de Montréal, at the end of a difficult race that did not go his way. The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider cited fatigue, casting doubts into his role at the upcoming world championships road race which will take place on the same circuit.
"I didn't feel good in the finale. I don't think I had fully recovered from Québec and the travel on Saturday. But I don't just give up, either. Better to have a bad day today than in two weeks," Evenepoel shared with Wielerflits.
The Olympic Champion saw the race become difficult from early on with strong early attacks, which would on paper benefit him. After winning the GP de Québec, the form looked to be on point. But inbetween races, Evenepoels says that he did not recover the best, and did not feel like he had the same legs this Sunday.
"You shouldn't underestimate it, especially with the limited time we have and the amateurish travel arrangements between the two races. But then again, that applies to everyone. I just didn't feel great. I’m never really at my best in humid weather, either. And I still finished fifth. If this was a bad day, it wasn't all that bad."
Remco Evenepoel won the 2026 GP De Québec
No conclusions drawn from Montréal
The Belgian was unable to follow the attacks on the penultimate lap by UAE who then had Isaac del Toro and Brandon McNulty - alongside a few other riders - link up to Adam Yates. The Emirati team, despite the majority, did not work to keep the Olympic Champion away. Before the final ascent of Mount Royal, he recovered his place in the group, but was unable to follow Paul Seixas and eventual winner del Toro when they attacked off the front.
"I’m not drawing any conclusions from this. In two weeks, the race will be another sixty kilometers longer, I think. It will be a completely different race then, with much more fatigue involved," he argues.
Evenepoel then had good legs at the line, beating the explosive Tom Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone in the uphill sprint, a sign that only in the longer efforts was he not up to par.
"In the end, I couldn't respond to the attack here, but I was the only one who could really close the gap. After that, I still had two good accelerations and, ultimately, a strong sprint. It didn't look promising for fifth place at first, but I managed to catch a few guys right at the finish line."
Evenepoel readying for the World Championships
Evenepoel, a week ahead of the beginning of the world championships, tried to push the pressure aside, and look at this past weekend as training. “Just a good training day with a solid result. I’ve had a good weekend. Now it’s time to get to work; from here on out, I’m focusing on the World Championship time trial, which takes place next Sunday, September 20—also in Montréal.”
“You guys will probably label me the worst rider in the world now," he joked. “I just didn’t have a good day. I told the team right away that we shouldn’t make an aggressive move, but rather take a bit of control over the course. I found my legs a bit towards the end, but once the pace really ramped up, I struggled.”
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Evenepoel will be amongst the main favourites for the road race, but it has become clear that he will not have a dominant role in the race, as could have been predicted following the GP de Québec.
But he remains stress-free, ahead of the final key period of his season. “I didn’t give up and pushed myself to the limit. I always experience this when coming down from altitude—missing that extra punch. There are still two weeks to go, so it’ll be fine.”
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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- It is good news for cycling fans, but I doubt that the many peoples of the world that are put upon will even know about it.Cyclingsbestfan14-09-2026
- At least we saw a great race in Montreal, not like the boring Vuelta. Who cares if Mas or Roglič or Gall or anyone else won this boring Vuelta. I see comments on this site, after Pogi crashed, went down at least 25%. Pogi haters and other fools on this site won't admit it. While they celebrated Pogi's crash and saying the Vuelta was "exciting again," the reality is that the second and third weeks of the Vuelta attracted far fewer viewers. David Bavin-HobbsIn on PRO CYCLING: "A cycling world that has been dominated for years by Pogačar and UAE Emirates-XRG—and in a world where people talk about the sport being “boring,” “monotonous,” and “unexciting”—the Slovenian’s withdrawal provided a very enlightening insight. For although Pogacar had the Vuelta firmly in his grasp, far more people were watching when he was in the race versus after his departure. The statistics website Procyclingstats shared a rather bizarre graph showing the sharp drop in visitor numbers since Pogacar was forced to withdraw. In recent years, there had always been an increase in unique visitors during the first and second weeks of the Vuelta. However, Pogacar’s withdrawal resulted in a 15 percent drop."PogiSloFans14-09-2026
- Loved the kit Movistar put together, too, that has to be one of the best GT winning kits I’ve seen.anonymouscyclist14-09-2026
- Somehow Seixas went to sleep just as Del Toro launched his sprint. Seixas says he's still learning, and he won't make that mistake again. And Remco still beat Pidcock in the sprint for fifth after burning too many matches. Should be a great Worlds race indeed!Hills3314-09-2026
- Agreed. The stages for GC races have become shorter over time and the riders are fueled significantly better, while the gear has become lighter and more efficient both in terms of aerodynamics and power transfer - which all means riders are arriving to race finales and/or pinch points with more speed and more energy than ever before. People designing these routes need to take that into account, or - accept that the huge sums of money involved in winning races means that teams no longer want to risk it all on some needlessly dangerous corner purely to satisfy the blood-sport purists out there who seems to think cycling should be rolling UFCwrsty14-09-2026
- I thought this team was on the decline.mij14-09-2026
- No rider is losing "credibility" over this. It's a sprint stage, not a GC stage. Very often, a sprint stage is effectively neutralized at 5 km, sometimes 3 km. The lap was a bit more at 10 km--not a big deal. And, the lap was not chosen for the specific distance. Practically, that way, the GC would finish at the same finish line, simplifying the timekeeping and logistics. Cycling is changing/has to change. The speeds are too high on courses too rough. Assymetrically, the rewards, salaries, and demands to win so high, losses to crashes have ruined riders and their teams full seasons. Too many great riders taking one or two years to return to top form. The violence of the sport the machismo these "analysts" pretend and want to amp up is what cost the sport its credibility as sport. Cycling can't be just blood and guts.JM14-09-2026
- Loved this edition. So exciting, so interesting. Loved the scenery, the riders, the whole thing. I watched every day.wrsty14-09-2026
- no-one holding his number i noticewrsty14-09-2026
- LOVE that winners kit. the blue really pops. Plus it's just nice to see a special kit that isn't UAE, Visma, INEOS or RBBH - the only GT winners for the last 8 years or so (IIRC)wrsty14-09-2026
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