"Remco hasn't reached the end of his development yet" - Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe want to take Evenepoel to Pogacar's level in the classics
Cycling
If there is one rider who is capable of matching Tadej Pogacar in the hilly and mountainous one-day races in the current peloton, it seems rather obvious that Remco Evenepoel is the most likely. At age 25, the Belgian may still have room for development, and within Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe there is the desire to reach the level of the current World Champion.
"The collaboration with Remco officially starts in a few weeks, but we're already working on it behind the scenes. There's a lot of talking and plenty of ideas being exchanged," the team's new coach Sven Vanthourenhout said in words to Het Laatste Nieuws.
The team has made a full switch over the past few months to take in the double Olympic champion - besides reigning World and European champion. Not only has the team signed his right-hand man Mattia Cattaneo, but Vanthourenhout himself - the man who guided Evenepoel towards his Olympic titles, alongside other staff members making the move over from Soudal - Quick-Step.
Evenepoel has achieved a lot, but moving to a team now with greater mountain support, what he can achieve in Grand Tours may also improve. Next year's goals are still undetermined, but in his current form, the Belgian has big goals currently in mind before the season ends.
What Evenepoel needs to do to match Pogacar
"Pogacar can maintain such an acceleration for longer than anyone else. For a few minutes, he pushes twenty, thirty, or forty watts more than the rest, after which he drops back to a 'normal' wattage."
Hence what needs to be improved for the Belgian seems rather clear. It is necessary at the very least to keep his current power for the longer efforts, however as did Jonas Vingegaard, Evenepoel most likely will want to work on his shorter climbing efforts. Something in which he currently thrives, but not to the level of the World Champion which is the ultimate goal.
“On the one hand, you have Pogacar, who is an enormous talent – it's obvious that he's inherited certain qualities from nature that can't always be trained. On the other hand, I'm convinced that Remco hasn't reached the end of his development yet and that he can take the step towards Pogacar. Through performance, through nutrition, through training.”
Matching Pogacar in the one-day races, Grand Tours seems impossible
Vanthourenhout knows that this may be a priority for next year: “It's no secret that you can work on these things with specific interval training. However, you have to consider the individual athlete: you always have to maintain a balance between the three engines. You can't train solely for those super-intensive efforts, because for a cyclist, basic fitness remains crucial".
However he is keen on pointing out that this refers to the one-day races, such as the recent World and European Championships where he was the only one close to the Slovenian, not the Grand Tours where at the time being Pogacar's climbing ability, time trialing and consistency seems to be head and shoulders over even his closest rivals.
"Remco won't improve by another fifteen percent, but I truly believe he can become Pogacar's equal in the one-day races. I'm not talking about the stage races."
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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