Remco Evenepoel delivers bad news for Pogacar ahead of World Championships: "I don’t want to shout it from the rooftops"

Of course, many riders would have signed up for a year like Evenepoel had in 2025, but after a training accident in December, things didn't go quite as planned. He only started in April in the Brabantse Pijl, and although he won it straight away, he still fell short in the other Ardennes classics. In Romandy, he won the time trial, but was not yet able to keep up with the best on the climbs.

In the Critérium du Dauphiné, that trend continued, with another win in the time trial, but after a fifth place in Romandy, he now finished fourth in the overall classification. After winning the Belgian time trial title, he seemed to be heading for the Tour de France with confidence, but after fourteen days of suffering, he gave up. It turned out that he had started with a broken rib.

After Evenepoel restarted in early August, he rode the Tour of Britain (where he won the penultimate stage) and headed for the World Championships at altitude. And that has paid off, emphasized the Olympic time trial and road champion the day before the World Championship time trial. “I don't want to shout it from the rooftops, but I don't think I've been in better shape this year than I am now.”

According to Evenepoel, that makes sense, because: “I had a solid preparation, a long month of training, and I now also have five months of competition in the legs, like everyone else who has done the Tour. So it's not illogical that I feel better now than I have all season. That's also what we expected after the winter. It's the first time I've been able to finish everything really well in training.”

On Friday, Evenepoel spoke of ‘a difficult season’, which he says he can still brighten up at the World Championships, European Championships, and Tour of Lombardy. He is already the top favorite for the time trials at the championships, as Evenepoel won this year in Romandy, the Dauphiné, the Belgian Championship, and the Tour de France time trial, despite not being in top form. How will that go with super legs?

Bad news for Tadej Pogacar and others who want to challenge him on Sunday. The fast rider, who will be riding for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe from 2026, also sees a perfect course for a third consecutive World Championship time trial title. “It's a course I like: wide, lots of straights, not technical, lots of positioning.” His highly praised aerodynamic position also comes into its own.

“There will also be a lot of pace changes because it's constantly up and down—which doesn't make it any easier—but I actually like that,” says Evenepoel, who will have to pace himself for the most challenging climbs at the end. “It's often uphill, but this isn't a mountain stage. These are hills, similar to those found in the Ardennes or the Amstel Gold Race. Efforts of four to five minutes.”