Preview, favourites, profile, route and predictions European Championships 2025 men's elite road race - Pogacar versus Vingegaard versus Evenepoel

The European Championships' men's road race will be taking place on the 5th of October and we take a look at its startlist. It is a race that will be featuring the world's very best climbers with Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, João Almeida and many others looking to win a title that neither has had before. The race is expected to start at 11:45CET and finish at 17:00CET.

This race is going to be hotly contested and perhaps an improved version of the startlist of the World Championships. Fit for the climbers, not hard enough that it gives classics specialists hopes of a result too, but without the stress of long travels and unusual weather conditions, many will be making the trip to France for the Europeans after having prepared more specifically than those who flew to Rwanda. Jonas Vingegaard is certainly aiming to perform here and battle the riders that have been on his heels or above throughout the rest of the year, whilst João Almeida will also be present after the duo's battle at the Vuelta a España.

Tadej Pogacar will be the main favourite for the race, looking to add to his palmarès a title that he hasn't had before but he will have to do so with a Slovenian national team that will not feature Primoz Roglic who will be focused on the Italian Autumn classics. Remco Evenepoel will be present as well, another rider who has surprisingly not had the European jersey in his palmarès but will defend Belgian's reign in this competition (Tim Merlier won it in 2024).

The race starts off in Privas and it is a course for the climbers. Right from the gun there is a 4-kilometer ascent that can be used by some teams to put strong riders in the breakaway, which can be used to put pressure on rivals or be used later in the race at some point.

There are 202.5 kilometers towards Gulherand-Granges, although the riders reach the finish line for the first time after only 47 kilometers. Unlike the women, the climb to Val d'Enfer will wait a bit longer, but the riders tackle three laps of a first brutal circuit.

The main climb to Saint Romain de Lerps is 7 kilometers long at 7.2%. The climb is long and rather steep and is followed by Val d'Enfer which is 1.5 kilometers long at 10%. The riders will tackle this first circuit a total of three times, through which most of the 3500 meters of climbing will come from.

The peloton then enters a second circuit which is focused on the short and steep ascent, which favours the climbers but allows for some puncheurs to also have a saying. After the long ascent, this climb will be tackled on four occasions: 57, 40, 23 and 6 kilometers to go. Right after its summit there's a small 500-meter long ramp that can still see some attacks, and in the final lap the riders descend into Guilherand-Granges where the final 3 kilometers will be flat. 

As was the case in the time-trial, we expect strong northern wind to affect the race. Early on means we shouldn't have a lot of action but it's really in the climbs that this can happen. On the long climb it can come as a crosswind but in Val d'Enfer, if it's felt, it will come as a headwind, which means it won't prevent attacks and may even motivate them.

Tadej Pogacar - The man to beat, regardless of how strong the others may or may not come into the race. There is no avoiding that the Slovenian is simply the strongest climber and puncheur in the current peloton and in Rwanda he put in another masterclass to win the rainbow jersey. Slovenia lacks Primoz Roglic here and doesn't have a strong collective, but in Rwanda he did not even need it and just made the race himself, anticipating any potentially dangerous attack. Nothing stops him from doing the same to avoid being swarmed, and in any scenario he has to be dropped in order for others to have a realistic chance of winning.

Remco Evenepoel - The Belgians have Tiesj Benoot back which is good news and also Maxim van Gils, two riders who at their best can thrive in this terrain. But in a race with Pogacar and Vingegaard it is likely to come down to the legs, and Evenepoel simply has to have the climbing legs himself. In Rwanda, besides the psychological issues he seemed to have, he looked great. Namely this isn't a race built for solo attacks, he won't really have space to surprise, but if he can climb at the same level and also pack a good sprint he is going to be a strong victory candidate and perhaps Pogacar's biggest rival.

Jonas Vingegaard - The Danes will not have Mads Pedersen as a card to play but in Jonas Vingegaard and Mattias Skjelmose they maintain their leaders. Skjelmose is in terrific form and this sort of climb is very good for him. He beat Pogacar and Evenepoel at Amstel, which will have him believe he can win here and he won't sacrifice his chances for a Vingegaard that is racing for the first time since the Vuelta. Namely, the Visma rider doesn't have experience in one-day races, but he does have experience on these roads (he's won in this region in the past) and what he really needs are the climbing legs on the day - at his best, he can follow Vingegaard in this terrain, we've seen that happen several times.

Juan Ayuso - The Spaniard is a big if, but a big talent too. He was the only one able to follow Tadej Pogacar up Mount Kigali last Sunday and that's a big indicator of form and motivation. Here he won't have the ultra-steep short walls such as the Mur where he can be dropped in the same way, and he won't have the endurance factor as much as in Kigali. Yes it's a big ask, but it's also a rider with big goals who wants to prove himself against the best.

João Almeida - His form is questionable since the end of the Vuelta and his withdrawal from the time trial event, however Almeida is a super rider and can never be discounted. The terrain is not ideal for him here in Drôme, but with great climbing legs he can be present in the key moments of the race and can launch attacks that will go uncovered as the 'big 3' should be marking each other. Also his friendship with Pogacar could mean the Slovenian may not chase down if the Portuguese does find himself off the front, very likely.

France - The French have here their home race and a team that is beyond stacked, the problem is they do not have an 'alien' and so this depth may not end up meaning much unless they have good tactics and some good luck involved too. Romain Grégoire is, to be fair, incredibly strong and in this terrain he is a medal contender. On his best day, we could even see him surprise quite a bit and follow the very best, he will be a threat and in a sprint he is very fast. The team has to depend on many attacks and doing it from early on, with Pavel Sivakov, Paul Seixas, Alex Baudin, Nicolas Prodhomme, Aurélien and Valentin Paret-Peintre all in the mix.

Italy - A team of five only, but four of them are very strong riders who usually perform well in the hilly one-day races. They've got experience in Diego Ulissi, explosivity in Christian Scaroni, endurance in Alberto Bettiol and great time-trialing abilities in a Marco Frigo. The team does have to look to surprise and be part of early moves if it wants to contest for the medals however, with this level of field.

Furthermore we have men such as Jan Christen, Mauro Schmid, Mathias Vacek or Toms Skujins, all puncheurs or classics riders, who will be leading their own national teams and can very well get in the action - although following the 'big 3' will always be a hard task for anyone.

*** Tadej Pogacar
** Remco Evenepoel, Romain Grégoire, Jonas Vingegaard, Juan Ayuso, Mattias Skjelmose
* João Almeida, Maxim van Gils, Nicolas Prodhomme, Pavel Sivakov, Christian Scaroni, Alberto Bettiol, Jan Christen, Toms Skujins, Mathias Vacek

Pick: Tadej Pogacar

How: Small group sprint, I think this time we won't see a solo win.