{"id":242510,"date":"2025-10-26T18:11:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T18:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/242510\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T18:11:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T18:11:12","slug":"you-cant-pog-proof-the-tour-cadel-evans-claims-time-gaps-will-be-massive-for-tadej-pogacar-at-2026-tour-de-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/242510\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cYou can\u2019t Pog-proof the Tour\u201d \u2013 Cadel Evans claims \u201ctime gaps will be massive\u201d for Tadej Pogacar at 2026 Tour de France"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nA route that punishes hesitationSpeaking in quotes collected by the Canadian Cycling Magazine<\/a> following the route presentation, Evans said the 2026 race will demand total commitment from day one. \u201cFrom the opening team time trial, GC contenders will have to be at their best immediately,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough first week and a brutal final stretch with two finishes on Alpe d\u2019Huez \u2014 that\u2019s rare. It\u2019ll be hard to control the lead and even harder to defend it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Australian, who knows better than most the fine margins of a Tour campaign, believes the defining moments will arrive in the final mountain block. \u201cThe last stage has 5,600 metres of climbing \u2014 probably the hardest mountain stage in living memory. When it gets that hard, the riders who are on will still be flying, and the others will be walking zombies. Instead of losing two or three minutes, they\u2019ll lose 15.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"cadelevans<\/p>\n

Cadel Evans won the Maillot Jaune back in 2011<\/p>\n

Barcelona to Alpe d\u2019Huez \u2013 no easy days<\/p>\n

Evans praised the Grand D\u00e9part in Barcelona as a \u201cspectacular\u201d setting but warned that what follows will be far from scenic. He singled out Stage 6 to Gavarnie-G\u00e8dre and Stage 14 to Le Markstein Fellering as particularly punishing before pointing to Stage 20 \u2014 Alpe d\u2019Huez \u2014 as the one that \u201cstands out\u201d most. \u201cA brutal day across terrain that\u2019s close to my heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Grady, a two-time Tour stage winner and 2007 Paris-Roubaix champion, echoed those sentiments. \u201cIt\u2019s an explosive edition from day one. You can\u2019t hide \u2014 you\u2019ve got to fight from Barcelona to Paris,\u201d he said. \u201cClimbing Alpe d\u2019Huez twice could destroy legs and decide the Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair also reflected on the controversial decision to use individual timings for the opening team time trial \u2014 a format that mirrors Paris-Nice earlier this year. \u201cIt erodes the spirit of a team time trial but is fairer in some ways,\u201d said Evans. O\u2019Grady admitted he remains fond of the discipline, adding: \u201cI\u2019ve got a soft spot for TTTs, but this one\u2019s going to be something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pogacar\u2019s playground?<\/p>\n

The tone of Evans\u2019 remarks leaves little doubt about who he believes will thrive on such a demanding parcours. Pogacar, a four-time Tour champion and reigning world road race winner, has built his legend on races that punish hesitation and reward consistency \u2014 precisely the traits this course demands.<\/p>\n

As Evans put it, \u201cYou can\u2019t Pog-proof the Tour.\u201d The 2026 edition, with its early aggression, relentless climbing and colossal final mountain stage, may only confirm that truth \u2014 and once again, leave the rest of the peloton chasing shadows.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A route that punishes hesitationSpeaking in quotes collected by the Canadian Cycling Magazine following the route presentation,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-242510","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}