"I think Remco Evenepoel would win the Tour in the right conditions," says Sean Kelly

They were remarkable words last week, when Tadej Pogacar admitted to being somewhat anxious about whether Remco Evenepoel might take another step with his new team. The Slovenian will likely face the Belgian again at the Tour de France next summer, but does Evenepoel have any business in the Tour de France? Cycling legend Sean Kelly thinks so and even sees the Belgian winning the Tour in the future.

"It scares me that he would get better," were Pogacar's words about Evenepoel. "For Remco, the change could be good. He went from one super team to another. It will be interesting if he can take another step. I hope not, because I think he is already quite strong and dominant," the Slovenian said.

That was quite remarkable, since we are somewhat used to Pogacar riding around very dominantly and winning almost everywhere he starts. This is how the world champion registered his fourth Tour victory last summer. The Tour de France is a race Evenepoel would love to win in his career.

Who Evenepoel's main rival would be then, according to Kelly, should be no secret. But the question is: "First of all Pogacar, how long is he going to go on for?,” the Irishman wonders aloud at Velo. "He could just do another two years and say, ‘ah, the Tour de France, I have won enough of them and I want to do something else.’"

For now, that is not yet the case, as the Slovenian world champion recently announced his goals for 2026. "I like challenges and try to adjust my program a little bit every year, but right now I think I'm pretty limited in what I can race. And every year there is the Tour de France, which is the main goal of the team and of me," he said.

Kelly sees that Pogacar loves cycling. "And there is talk of him doing cyclo cross, there is a lot of stuff being mentioned at the moment," said the Irishman, who, of course, is also looking at Jonas Vingegaard. "And if Vingegaard is also starting to maybe not perform as well as he has been performing…"

Kelly therefore thinks Evenepoel should first get close to the Danish Visma star, which the Irishman believes is certainly possible. "I think if Remco improves a bit more he will definitely get closer to Vingegaard. And of course Vingegaard is older as well," the cycling legend is referring to the Dane, who turns 29 years old next month.

Crucial key question in Evenepoel's career, of course, will be whether the Belgian was ultimately able to win the Tour de France. According to Kelly, that is certainly possible. "I think Remco would win the Tour in the right conditions. And definitely if the two big ones are out of the way," he sounds adamant.

It would be the first Belgian since Lucien van Impe in 1976 to win the Tour de France. Still, according to Kelly, Van Impe's succession is not in the cards any time soon. "To win the Tour against Pogačar is hard to see now. In the first mountain stages in the Tour we saw the way he just rode away. He put two minutes into Vingegaard and almost four minutes into the other guys.

So Kelly's conclusion also reads, "I think he is untouchable at the moment." So, according to the cycling legend, despite his new team, next summer will be very difficult for Evenepoel. 'If he continues at that level he had this year into next year, I don’t see anyone challenging him to win the Tour."

How then? Patience and perseverance seem most important right now. So that will have to happen at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, where he will race with Primoz Roglic, among others. Kelly sees that the Slovenian veteran, along with his other teammates, will play a crucial role. "They definitely need to show to Remco that they are behind him."

With all its leaders, it won't be easy at all for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, as it also has Florian Lipowitz, Jai Hindley, Giulio Pellizzari and Daniele Felipe Martinez in addition to Evenepoel and Roglic. Kelly sees, however, that they seem to be putting everything on Evenepoel. "They are changing staff, they are doing everything for Evenepoel. Their expectation is that he can win the Tour in the next couple of years."