“In our day, Grand Tours had more than 100km of time trialling” – 2026 Tour de France has missed golden opportunity to put pressure on Tadej Pogacar, claims Belgian legend
Cycling
The newly unveiled 2026 Tour de France route has triggered frustration and disbelief among Belgian cycling figures, who believe organisers have missed a rare opportunity to test Tadej Pogacar with a more balanced parcours.
While the race begins with a 19.7km team time trial in Barcelona, the individual test against the clock — a 26km uphill effort from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains — has become the focal point of debate. Belgian analysts argue that the lack of a longer, flatter time trial heavily favours Pogacar and leaves Remco Evenepoel with too little ground to use his world-class time-trial ability.
“Twenty-six kilometres is far too little for our Remco”
Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, former professional turned pundit Dirk De Wolf didn’t hold back in his criticism. “Twenty-six kilometres is far too little for our Remco,” he said. “In our day, Grand Tours had more than a hundred kilometres of time trialling. Now these stages barely last twenty or thirty minutes.”
De Wolf lamented the shift in focus away from balance and towards pure spectacle. “They say they want to keep things exciting until the end, but that’s nonsense,” he added. “The riders make the race, not the route. If you truly want several contenders, you have to include more time-trial kilometres. That’s how you create a real battle between styles — the climbers against the specialists.”
“This route suits Pogacar even more than Evenepoel”
Belgium’s national coach Serge Pauwels also shared his concern, noting that while the course still offers some opportunities for Evenepoel, it plays even more to Pogacar’s strengths. “This parcours suits Remco, but it’s still even better for Pogacar,” Pauwels explained. “Where can Remco make the difference now? Only in the time trial – and that’s far too limited.”
Former Lotto team manager Marc Sergeant echoed Pauwels’ sentiments, calling the design a “missed opportunity” for the race organisers to add more tactical variety. “The Tour has everything else – a team time trial in Barcelona, early stages in the Pyrenees, and the double climb of Alpe d’Huez – but it lacks a long, flat test against the clock,” he observed.
A route built for drama, not equilibrium
For the Belgian experts, the pattern is clear: the modern Tour de France has prioritised visual drama and mountain spectacle over balance and fairness between rider types. While few doubt Pogacar’s brilliance, many feel the organisers have once again leaned too heavily towards the climbers.
As De Wolf concluded, a longer time trial could have transformed the general classification dynamic entirely. “A Remco at his best could take minutes on everyone else,” he said. “That’s when you’d really have a fight on your hands – a true contest between the mountain goats and the power riders.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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