"You have to believe": French hero aims to upset Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel in Ardeche
Cycling
The 2025 European Championships is very close to celebrate its main event: the elite men's road race. It will be one of the most anticipated editions in history, as it will once again bring together the 3 big stars of the current peloton: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel. For riders like Romain Grégoire, it will present a challenge that is almost unprecedented.
Grégoire will take the start of the European Championships as one of the contenders for the French home crowd to celebrate a medal. The Groupama - FDJ rider is going all out and will not be intimidated by any of the three riders mentioned above. Will he be able to win the gold medal?
"The opportunities are there, but they are rare. You have to be prepared, be serious and keep believing in order to take advantage of them," Grégoire said in a statement reported by Eurosport.
Growing up in Besancon, some four hours' ride from Ardeche, Grégoire has been to the region many times before and could use the knowledge of the terrain to his benefit. "I know the roads, they are efforts that suit me," added Romain Grégoire, recalling his victory at the Faun Ardèche Classic earlier this season. On that day, he benefited from the mistake of Enric Mas and Javier Romo, who were going straight for the win and took a wrong turn on the last corner.
At the World Championships in Kigali, in a race that reached almost 5,500 meters of elevation gain, there was no match for Tadej Pogacar. Maybe that's why Romain Gregoire didn't want to race there. But at the European Championships, where the total positive vertical drop will be 3,300 meters over just a bit over 200 kilometers, he sees himself with a better chance of beating the best climbers in the world.
Romain Gregoire wants a European Championship medal
The keys to the European Championship
If Romain Gregoire wants to win the gold medal, he will have to be very clear that the European Championships will be decided, above all, on two key points:
- Triple ascent of Saint-Romain-de-Lerps (seven kilometers).
- Quadruple ascent of the Val d'Enfer (just over 1.5 km at almost 10% average gradient).
By sensations, it is certain that Romain Grégoire will arrive at the European Championships with a great momentum. In his last race, the Tour de Luxembourg, he took two stage wins. And just before that he won the general classification of the Tour of Britain including a stage. If the home crowd in France is excited, it's for a reason. Can he really pull off a surprise?
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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