“Remco Evenepoel is studying how Pogacar attacks” – Experts reveal how the Olympic champion plans to fight back in 2026

While many in the peloton appear resigned to Tadej Pogacar’s dominance, Remco Evenepoel is, according to Het Nieuwsblad analysts Jan-Pieter De Vlieger and Guy Van den Langenbergh, quietly dissecting the Slovenian’s methods — and learning exactly how to fight back.

Speaking on the Café Koers podcast, De Vlieger suggested that the Olympic champion and reigning time trial world champion is approaching Pogacar’s supremacy not with frustration, but with forensic analysis. “You can see that he’s studying how Pogacar’s attacks actually work,” De Vlieger explained. “I also read in the commentary that Pogacar doesn’t really shift gears; he simply increases his cadence.”

According to the analyst, Evenepoel has identified the critical window in Pogacar’s arsenal — those one or two minutes of explosive acceleration that decide most races. “Evenepoel’s assessment is that he loses out in those acceleration moments, and that afterwards it more or less stabilises. So he knows he has to find a response to that initial surge — those one or two minutes when the gap is made. That’s what he seems to be working on.”

Evenepoel’s determination to close that gap has been a recurring storyline throughout 2025. The pair clashed repeatedly across the spring and summer, with Pogacar taking victories at both the Tour of Flanders and Liege–Bastogne–Liege — races where Evenepoel once reigned supreme — before the Belgian gained a measure of redemption later in the year.

His standout moment came in Kigali, where he claimed a third consecutive world time trial title, beating Jay Vine and Ilan van Wilder while even catching Pogacar on the road. The display underscored his ongoing evolution — not just as a powerhouse against the clock, but as a rider with the tactical and physical tools to eventually threaten Pogacar’s grip on the biggest races.

While Pogacar continues to sweep the Monuments and dominate the Grand Tours, Evenepoel’s camp remains patient. His move to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe for 2026 is seen as a new phase in that pursuit, with the team promising a more tailored environment to refine his climbing and endurance capabilities — key battlegrounds in any future duels with the Slovenian.

In a season where many rivals have seemingly surrendered to Pogacar’s superiority, De Vlieger and Van den Langenbergh see Evenepoel as the outlier — the rare figure still searching for a blueprint to beat cycling’s most complete rider.

Whether that pursuit yields tangible results remains to be seen, but for now, Evenepoel’s methodical approach offers something increasingly scarce in the modern peloton: a genuine belief that Pogacar’s dominance can, one day, be broken.