Remco Evenepoel on expected battle with Pogacar: "It will be a pleasure to race against him, but it will also hurt"
Cycling
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team are heading to Tirreno-Adriatico with an absolutely stacked team, and Remco Evenepoel will be testing himself for the overall classification. With Julian Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen and Mark Cavendish, the team will likely be stage hunting above all, but he eyes an important learning step which will be going head-to-head with Tadej Pogacar.
"Does that make me nervous? No, it's always fun to compete against the biggest names in the pack," Evenepoel said when asked about his rivals including Tadej Pogacar. "I'm here to learn, to watch and hopefully also get good results."
"He seems unbeatable, but everyone thought the same of Mathieu van der Poel in the Tour of Flanders. And yet Asgreen was able to beat him. So we have to believe in ourselves. It will be a pleasure to race against him, but it will also hurt," he added in a pre-race press conference he did alongside Julian Alaphilippe, who is set to start the Italian stage-race despite his small injuries at Tirreno-Adriatico where he crashed out of contention.
After having a successful start to the season with wins at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana and Volta ao Algarve. At the latter he also took the overall classification comfortably. At Tirreno-Adriatico however, he will find tougher competition with the UAE and Strade Bianche winner at the start, and some high mountain riding which won't suit him as well as his February calendar.
"It is certainly a step higher... This team always wants to win, of course, but the opposition here is enormous. So I can't really say that the final win is a goal. A lot can happen, we do it day by day," Evenepoel said.
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The queen stage will see the riders tackle the brutal Monte Carpegna twice. However, it will come after two hilly and explosive stages where many can loose the race: "It is probably a good test to see where I am in terms of that explosiveness. Everything depends on how I feel at the time. What I did in training does not count, I still have to have fresh legs at the moment that climb is coming. I can't say yet if I'll be good there."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I see (elsewhere) that Alaphilippe had more to say than what got relayed in this stub. Me: he was very good early but his latter third trajectory was the pits. His old boss did what he could (huffed and puffed) but Julian couldn't get his greatness back. Sometimes I wonder if crashes that didn't look like much changed the course of the rider.flyer14-11-2026
- I wouldn't classify it as a gift because the nasty consequences of taking it from Sepp would have been great and would persist and he knew it.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. Tratnik's good and Red Bull's better so Tratnik may get what he wants.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. So just saying he wasn't enjoying racing anymore is some kind of explanation? Me saying I don't enjoy his explanation is more explaining than he did.flyer14-11-2026
- Buitrago, was he their best rider in 2026? He's the chief loss for them and Martinez and Tiberi (especially) have to step up or they will be overtaken by Bahrain's younger riders like Omrzel. I'm still somewhat high on Martinez but Tiberi, after showing signs of promise, has fizzled. Bahrain still has a good team but they need to improve and exceed expectations. I'd be happy if Mohoric could manage to return to his better form for maybe one last year at least.flyer14-11-2026
- Hmmm, "... I just gained 30 seconds purely off the bike. Because it's really a big, big improvement compared to the previous bike". Is that marketing for Specialized or serious valid hype, or something in between? Very likely the former.flyer14-11-2026
- Nothing revelatory or controversial. Why do we have to report on Bruyneel's or Armstrong's thinking. It's a shame and enough that the Move's on TV and that people watch it .flyer14-11-2026
- Makes sense that training from home is a big asset or advantage but it's still remarkable that he can put in three quality majors and not pay some heavy price for the exertion. I wish he would have won that tour stage that his crash while leading allowed Carapaz the win. He's a darn good rider and teammate.flyer14-11-2026
- Sounds like we all agree with the over under exaggeration: "The German’s signing does not guarantee that Evenepoel will win the Tour in 2027. "flyer14-11-2026
- Seixas appears to be that good but if he isn't (an absolute rival to Pogacar) he would have plenty of company in rising stars that did not go on to fully meet the expectations of many. That Pogacar wasn't the greatest (as great) sooner can't be transposed onto another's development. It may be not that simple.flyer14-11-2026
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