"The fact Pogacar can ride Van der Poel off his wheel on the Oude Kwaremont shows how hard the Ronde is" – Remco Evenepoel warned ahead of expected Tour of Flanders debut

If Remco Evenepoel does make his long-anticipated debut at the 2026 Tour of Flanders, he may walk straight into one of the most punishing editions the race has ever known.

That is the view of analyst Benji Naesen, who believes Evenepoel’s physical tools make him a serious contender – but warns the demands of modern Flanders, shaped by the dominance of riders like Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, leave no margin for hesitation.

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, Naesen pointed to Pogacar’s destruction of Van der Poel on the Oude Kwaremont as a sign of just how selective the race has become. “The fact that Pogacar can ride Van der Poel off his wheel on the Oude Kwaremont shows how hard the Tour of Flanders is these days. Then it’s not only about explosiveness.”

“If the Ronde opens up early, that’s better for Evenepoel," Naesen added. "The peloton becomes smaller and positioning into the climbs becomes less important.”

It is a striking reversal of the scepticism that once greeted Pogacar’s own classics ambitions. As Marc Sergeant reminded in the same discussion: “When Pogacar said he would ride the Ronde the first time, we all thought: what’s he coming here for? A week later we knew.”

Former rider and analyst Dirk De Wolf believes Evenepoel is not just capable of riding Flanders – he should treat it as a priority while he still has the freshness and explosiveness to win it.

“The finale is brutally hard – two times the Oude Kwaremont, two times the Paterberg, the Koppenberg. Remco can do that. Yes, it’s on cobbles, but it’s uphill. He can put out his power there and his body shape helps him.”

For De Wolf, this is exactly why the Belgian should not postpone a debut until later in his career. “He’s not going to stay 25. If the chance to win comes, he has to grab it. If you wait until you’re 33, it’s too late.”

De Wolf even suggested an ideal calendar structure that would allow Evenepoel to target both major cobbled and hilly classics without compromising his summer ambitions: “You can skip Brabantse Pijl and Amstel and still ride Milano–Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders. I’d really recommend it.”

The long, grinding accelerations on the Oude Kwaremont naturally suit him, while the repeated climbs reward riders who can produce high, steady power rather than those relying on short explosive bursts. It is the kind of terrain where GC capabilities become a genuine weapon — something Pogacar demonstrated emphatically with his dominance in recent editions.

Add Evenepoel’s runner-up finish at the recent World Championships on cobbles and the case becomes even stronger.

What complicates matters is the one weakness Naesen keeps returning to: positioning. Last spring, Evenepoel repeatedly found himself starting key climbs too far back, a trend Naesen described as “a real problem” — and one that a team like UAE would not hesitate to exploit on a climb such as the Cipressa or in the early cobbled sectors of Flanders.

The only factor that could prevent Evenepoel from committing to both Milano–Sanremo and Flanders is his 2026 Grand Tour schedule.

A Giro–Tour combination could squeeze out classics ambitions altogether, while a Tour-only programme may leave room for a more complete spring. As the Het Nieuwsblad analysts pointed out, Evenepoel’s move to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe makes a Tour de France start almost inevitable – and nobody expects the team to gamble with his preparation.