No Primoz Roglic as Remco Evenepoel’s Clasica San Sebastian squad confirmed for historic record bid
CyclingFriday, 31 July 2026 at 12:30
Remco Evenepoel will be without Primoz Roglic when he attempts to become the most successful rider in Clasica San Sebastian history on Saturday, with Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe confirming its seven-man squad for the Basque WorldTour Classic.
Roglic had been included on the provisional startlist but is absent from the final selection. Evenepoel will instead be joined by Haimar Etxeberria, Emil Herzog, Daniel Martinez, Gianni Moscon, Giulio Pellizzari and Maxim Van Gils.
The Olympic road race and time trial champion is the clear leader of a powerful climbing unit. Van Gils returns after finishing third in San Sebastian in 2025, while Pellizzari and Martinez give Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe further options across a 221.1-kilometre route containing seven classified climbs and more than 4,150 metres of elevation.
Evenepoel has won the Clasica San Sebastian on all three of his previous appearances, taking victory in 2019, 2022 and 2023. He currently shares the race record with Marino Lejarreta, but would move clear of the Spaniard with a fourth triumph.
Evenepoel carries career-best Tour result into one-day return
Saturday will mark Evenepoel’s first race since he finished second overall at the 2026 Tour de France, securing the best Grand Tour result of his career behind five-time winner Tadej Pogacar.
The Belgian ended the race 6:26 behind the yellow jersey and 3:16 ahead of third-placed Isaac Del Toro, having strengthened considerably during the second half of the Tour.
Evenepoel claimed his first Tour mountain-stage victory at Plateau de Solaison on Stage 15 before winning again in the 26.1-kilometre individual time trial between Evian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains one day later.
He remained among the strongest climbers through the final Alpine weekend, placing sixth on the first finish at Alpe d’Huez and second behind Richard Carapaz when the race returned to the mountain on Stage 20.
Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar after the 2026 Tour de France
That form now carries into the closing one-day phase of his season, beginning with a race that has already provided three of his 24 professional victories outside stage races.
The route is longer and harder than the one on which Evenepoel last won in 2023. Jaizkibel and Erlaitz feature during the attritional final third before the steep Murgil Tontorra, which averages more than 10% and is crested inside the final run back towards San Sebastian.
Evenepoel has previously won the race through both a long-range solo attack and a two-man sprint, but has never arrived directly from completing the Tour de France. Six days after stepping onto the Paris podium, he will attempt to extend his perfect San Sebastian record and move beyond Lejarreta as the race’s first four-time champion.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe for the 2026 Clasica San Sebastian:
| Remco Evenepoel |
| Haimar Etxeberria |
| Emil Herzog |
| Daniel Martinez |
| Gianni Moscon |
| Giulio Pellizzari |
| Maxim Van Gils |
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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- ouch! Let's hope he recovers in time for a successful Vuelta, but I'm going to assume that he's not going to be at the level he wishes or needs to compete with, say, Pogačar (by now I assume he's going).RidesHills31-07-2026
- go wout!Crashjames31-07-2026
- Alec Segaert is present, so on stage 1 there is always a chance of a disruption of the sprint
Rafionain-Glas31-07-2026 - I'm a fan and hurts me to have to say - this is just plain stupid of both him and the team! “We may have misunderstood the Tour a bit this year,” Vingegaard said following his withdrawal. “We made me better on the longer climbs. But it could well be that we should have realised I needed to be a bit more explosive and look more closely at the route.''Cyclingsbestfan31-07-2026
- LOL passing men is no significant achievement for elite female cyclists unless they are actually prosRafionain-Glas31-07-2026
- Visma's Vuelta gifting was certainly complicated, with JV having almost wiped out Kuss's lead before a public outcry led to Visma's decision to hold back. But Jonas seemed fine with letting almost victory go.Hills3331-07-2026
- I can read, and am responding to another comment or, dumbdevilCrashjames31-07-2026
- imo the pogs gifting is way obvious... Visma riders obeyed team orders even though Kuss deserved his victory with Roglic having a sook.
Davide31-07-2026 - yup.OCexile31-07-2026
- I'm one of those who really hopes Pog is clean, as he has real (and entertaining) skills like attacking at just the right moment to beat Carapaz and Martinez on Alpe d'Huez, taking just the right line to pull away on the descent on Stage 6, crashing in such a way that he can carry on and win, or avoiding crashing over a bidon. For me, the real moment of temptation to boost performance in some way would surely be when a rider is feeling desperate (whether to win again or simply not crack); and we might not be aware of such an inner struggle.Hills3331-07-2026
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