Without Pogacar, is he the big World Championship favourite? Red Bull star Remco Evenepoel puts in 5,300 metres of climbing in the Alps
Cycling
In 2025, Remco Evenepoel looked to be in the form of his life late in the season following an altitude camp in Livigno. This time around, the Olympic Champion is repeating the same formula, but without Tadej Pogacar in the way of his goals most likely.
Evenepoel is a rider who has tremendous talent, and also knowledge on how to prepare for the different goals of his season. In 2025 he suffered from an injury and transfer-related stress ahead of the Tour de France, but that created a deceptively wrong image that he lacked the legs to fight for a Grand Tour win.
In the fall, the Belgian returned to his very best form, using the Tour of Britain alongside the altitude camp to increase his level ahead of the World Championships. He won the time trial event, iconicaly overtaking Tadej Pogacar in Kigali.
He also won the European time trial event dominantly ahead of Filippo Ganna, despite only having had an extremely tight schedule after the world championships.
But in the road events, Evenepoel was by far the 'best of the rest' outside of Pogacar, whom he finished behind in second place at the World Championships, European Championships and Il Lombardia. In all three instances, the Belgian dropped the competition in the hunt for the silver medal, whilst his level as a whole was not too distant from that of the rainbow jersey.
Golden 2026 season might have more big wins
Evenepoel, this year, reached his best form at the Tour of Flanders where he finished on the podium and, in the summer, his preparation towards the Tour de France looked to be perfect as he reached his best level in the second half of the race.
He took a stage win at the Plateau de Solaison, rode to second place in the overall classification and appeared to have the best climbing level of his career. He backed the Tour up with a fourth win at the Clàsica San Sebastián.
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High intensity at high altitude
Since, Evenepoel has been in Livigno, in an altitude camp replicating his 2025 efforts which brought him to his best form. Tadej Pogacar has been forced to withdraw from the Vuelta a España following a crash that saw him suffer a concussion, as well as a fractured vertebra and collarbone. This means a participation in the late-season classics and Championships is unlikely.
Evenepoel might step up to be the main favourite, as he would've otherwise been in the absence of the Slovenian last fall. At the very least since the 15th of August, Evenepoel has been present in the high-altitude ski town
For the past few weeks, he has been doing very intense training rides in the high mountains, including some mythical climbs. This Tuesday his ride has caught the attention of many, featuring 5300 meters of climbing in just 181 kilometers. Evenepoel climbed up the Passo del Mortirolo, Passo di Gavia and Mottolino.

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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- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
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