Remco Evenepoel alters European Championships plans at the last minute after Montreal setback
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel has chosen to made a last-minute alteration to his European Championships preparations, delaying his journey to Slovenia by 24 hours in favour of one more training day in Belgium following a mixed World Championships in Montreal.
Evenepoel had been scheduled to fly to Slovenia on Thursday, little more than two days after landing back in Brussels following the overnight journey from Canada. Instead, the 26-year-old will remain at home for another day and travel on Friday, leaving him just two days in Slovenia before Sunday's elite men's road race.
Maxim Van Gils and Quinten Hermans have made the same decision after also racing in Canada. Belgium's other five selections, Jenno Berckmoes, Sander De Pestel, Ramses Debruyne, Ilan Van Wilder and Louis Vervaeke, are travelling on Thursday as originally planned.
"The riders who were racing in Canada prefer to have one more training day in Belgium," Het Laatste Nieuws reports.
Remco Evenepoel won his 4th world time trial title in a row in Montreal
Extra training day after contrasting Montreal Worlds
The change comes at the end of a Canadian block that offered two very different pictures of Evenepoel's form. He arrived at the World Championships having already won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec earlier in September, then produced another dominant performance against the clock to secure a fourth successive world time trial title.
His road race one week later unfolded very differently. Evenepoel was expected to be one of the central figures in the fight for the rainbow jersey, particularly with Tadej Pogacar absent, but began to struggle as the repeated accelerations took their toll around Montreal. He eventually crossed the line 12th as Brandon McNulty became world champion.
"The lights went out," was Evenepoel's assessment afterwards.
Seven days later, he will be back on another championship start line. The turnaround is particularly short given that Sunday's World Championship covered more than 270 kilometres, followed by the overnight journey back from Canada. Evenepoel landed in Belgium on Tuesday morning and has now chosen training at home over travelling to Slovenia at the first opportunity.
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One championship jersey still missing for Evenepoel
There is plenty at stake when he does arrive. Evenepoel has already been elite world champion on the road, won four consecutive world time trial titles and swept both Olympic road gold medals in Paris. He has also previously been European time trial champion.
The European road race remains the missing title from that championship collection. He came within one place of completing it in 2025, when Pogacar took gold and Evenepoel finished second. There will be no repeat of that duel this weekend after Pogacar was ruled out of his home European Championships while continuing his recovery from the injuries suffered at the Vuelta a España.
Sunday's course will nevertheless offer little respite. The 196.3-kilometre route from Ljubljana to Sencur finishes with five laps of a 22.1-kilometre circuit built around the Mozjanca climb. Although only 2.1 kilometres long, it averages 10.2% and reaches gradients of almost 16%, with the final ascent coming around 13 kilometres from the finish.
Primoz Roglic will instead carry Slovenian hopes on home roads, while the field also includes the likes of Juan Ayuso, Giulio Ciccone and Mads Pedersen.
Evenepoel will only contest the road race in Slovenia. He has opted against riding Wednesday's European time trial, despite arriving as the newly crowned world champion in the discipline, with Il Lombardia already waiting the following Saturday.
His final preparation for the first of those targets will now take place in Belgium rather than Slovenia, before Evenepoel flies out on Friday and turns his attention to the one elite championship jersey he has yet to wear.
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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- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
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santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
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