“Then it becomes a shitshow”: Pundits warn Belgium against tactical mistakes with Evenepoel and Van Aert in Montréal

Belgium enters the men’s road race at the 2026 World Championships in Montréal with a luxury few other nations can match: two leaders in Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert. That depth gives the team several possible ways to approach the race, but according to analysts Jim van den Berg and Thomas Dekker, it also leaves Belgium with little margin for tactical mistakes.

Evenepoel arrives in Canada with considerable momentum. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider retained his world time-trial title in Montréal on September 20, becoming the first rider to win the elite men’s rainbow jersey in the discipline four consecutive times.

Van Aert, meanwhile, gives Belgium a second option for the closing stages. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider has the ability to survive a hard race while still providing Belgium with a potential sprinting card if a larger group remains together. The other riders representing Belgium are Tiesj Benoot, Quinten Hermans, Gianni Vermeersch, Maxim Van Gils, Thibau Nys and Alec Segaert.

That combination has led many pundits to expect Belgium to take responsibility for controlling the race. The 273-kilometer course is built around Montréal's Mount Royal circuit, with repeated climbing and little opportunity for riders to hide once the race reaches its decisive phase.

On the Live Slow, Ride Fast podcast, however, Dekker argued that Belgium's position may be more complicated than it appears. Evenepoel's long-range attack was decisive when he won in Australia, but repeating that tactic in a World Championship field would require different circumstances.

“I don't think it's going to be that easy for them,” Dekker said. “Evenepoel won in Australia by going from far out, but they aren't going to let him ride away again, are they? Van Aert rode a good Vuelta, but it's also difficult to say with him. In sprints, he gets beaten sometimes, while then he also takes part in a mass sprint.”

Dekker believes Belgium will therefore have to make sure it has a rider represented in dangerous groups without unnecessarily committing one of its main cards. The challenge is that allowing Evenepoel to move clear too early could simply trigger an immediate response from the other major nations.

“What the Belgians should do is have someone riding in the chase of dangerous groups,” Dekker explained. “But you almost feel from everything that it is going to fail. I think Remco will be given space to go into the final lap. Then he could arrive alone, which is of course a realistic scenario.”

Van den Berg sees a similar race developing and believes Belgium should resist the temptation to create too many tactical layers. In his view, domestiques should primarily be used to control the race or serve as links for one of the two leaders.

“I wouldn't start riding with satellite riders either, unless they are sent up the road to help one of the two leaders,” Van den Berg said. “It's pretty simple: they have to control. Evenepoel can start attacking with five laps to go and only in the final lap do they play the Van Aert card.”

For Van den Berg, deviating too far from that basic plan could create more problems than it solves. “All the other scenarios become too complicated. Then you start trying to be smarter than the French and you overplay your hand. Then it becomes a shitshow. Although it is also a scenario that Wout says after six laps that it is not for him and sacrifices himself for Evenepoel. The other way around is not going to happen.”