"Remco was one of the options" - Andorra Cycling Masters almost had more star power alongside Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic & Del Toro

Next Sunday, Andorra will host the first edition of the Andorra Cycling Masters, an unprecedented event that will bring together just four of the world's top cycling names: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Isaac Del Toro. But one question inevitably arises: why won't Remco Evenepoel be there?

The small Pyrenean principality is preparing to host a unique experience. The Andorra Cycling Masters will combine a mountain time trial with an urban criterium in the heart of Andorra la Vella, creating an innovative format that promises to offer "an appetizer of the cycling of the future".

The organization has managed to attract the best the world peloton has to offer: world champion Tadej Pogacar, two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, 2025 cycling sensation Isaac Del Toro and four-time Vuelta a Espana winner Primoz Roglic.

Remco Evenepoel's name was naturally on the table. "Remco was one of the options," admitted Betim Budzaku, one of the mentors of the event. "We had already drawn up a list of the main riders in the peloton about a year and a half ago. Above all, we wanted to guarantee the presence of Tadej Pogacar, the best cyclist in the world."

"They were the first to confirm their presence," Budzaku explained.

As for the Belgian's absence, the reason is simple: "For Evenepoel, it didn't fit in with his planning. But if this first edition is a success, we want to repeat the event next year with other names. We'd love to have Remco back then."

The organizer also left a note of appreciation for the Belgian tradition: "Belgium has a huge cycling culture, much thanks to the achievements of Eddy Merckx. So it would be especially important to have Remco at the start in Andorra."

The Andorra Cycling Masters aims to go beyond a simple sporting spectacle. According to Budzaku, the event will be accompanied by a 50-minute documentary showing behind the scenes of the race. "We want to show more than the competitive side. The public will see how the cyclists arrive with their families and how they prepare for the event."

The series will be available on a streaming platform, "the name of which cannot yet be revealed", the organizer confided.

The competitive program kicks off on Sunday at 9 a.m. with a mountain time trial in Coll de la Gallina, one of Andorra's most emblematic climbs. Shortly afterwards, at 11 a.m., the four cyclists will compete in a 32-kilometer critérium in the principality's largest shopping center.

The criterium format provides for sprints every lap (15 in total) to award points. The final classification will result from the sum of the time trial times and the points earned in the criterium.

"Fortunately I'm not the one who has to do the math," joked Budzaku. "That's up to the Unipublic team, which also organizes the Vuelta a Espana."

But the main focus is not on the accounts. "The winner is mainly symbolic. What we want is to create a spectacular cycling show that, through the documentary, can reach an even wider audience."