{"id":631820,"date":"2026-04-26T10:13:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T10:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/631820\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T10:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T10:13:11","slug":"remco-loves-the-classics-but-he-still-has-to-aim-for-the-tour-de-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/631820\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRemco loves the Classics, but he still has to aim for the Tour de France\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThe discussion is not without foundation. Evenepoel\u2019s 2026 campaign has once again highlighted just how effective he is in one-day racing. Victory at Amstel Gold Race<\/a>, combined with a strong debut at the Tour of Flanders, has reinforced his standing as one of the most complete Classics riders in the world.<\/p>\n

His palmar\u00e8s already backs that up. Multiple wins at Cl\u00e1sica San Sebasti\u00e1n, two victories at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, a world title and Olympic gold underline a rider capable of deciding the biggest one-day races. At the same time, those performances have only sharpened the contrast with his Grand Tour ambitions.<\/p>\n

The Tour question remains<\/p>\n

Evenepoel is not an outsider in three-week racing. He has already finished on the podium at the Tour de France and claimed overall victory at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a in 2022, proving he has the engine and consistency required for general classification racing.<\/p>\n

But the landscape has shifted. Against riders like Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, the margins are defined in the high mountains, and that is where doubts have emerged.<\/p>\n

Recent races have raised questions about whether Evenepoel can consistently match that level over the most demanding climbs, particularly across the three weeks of the Tour.<\/p>\n

\"Jonas<\/p>\n

Evenepoel struggled to match Vingegaard on the climbs at the Volta a Catalunya<\/p>\n

\u201cHe still has to believe\u201d<\/p>\n

That is exactly why Patrick Evenepoel is urging patience rather than a change in direction. \u201cEveryone is talking about it now. Remco has always loved the Classics, but he still has to aim for the Tour de France. For another year or two, I think. If you can finish third in the Tour and win the Vuelta, you have to keep believing in that,\u201d he said in conversation with HLN.<\/p>\n

It is a clear stance. The results are already there, and in his view, they justify continued belief rather than a shift in focus.<\/p>\n

Between two worlds<\/p>\n

The dilemma is not about ability, but about optimisation. In one-day races, Evenepoel can impose himself with explosive efforts and aggressive racing, often putting him among the very best in the world.<\/p>\n

In Grand Tours, the equation is different. The reduced importance of time trials in modern routes and the increasing emphasis on sustained climbing place him in direct competition with riders who currently define the very highest level in the mountains. That does not remove him from contention, but it changes the balance.<\/p>\n

A decision that may define his career<\/p>\n

For now, the message from his inner circle is clear. The Tour de France remains a central objective. \u201cWhen Remco is back home with us in Belgium, we rarely talk about cycling,\u201d Patrick added. \u201cWe talk about everyday things, which is very important for him, for Oumi and for us. But actually, he doesn\u2019t come home very often. If he comes home often, it means something is wrong. So the less I see Remco, the better things are going for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The long-term direction of Evenepoel\u2019s career is still open to interpretation. But for the next two years at least, there will be no shift away from the biggest race in the world.<\/p>\n

That makes Sunday\u2019s Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge<\/a> another important reference point. Up against riders like Tadej Pogacar and Paul Seixas, both expected to feature prominently in the Tour de France conversation, Evenepoel is once again placed in direct comparison with the level he ultimately has to match.<\/p>\n

The Maillot Jaune remains the goal.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The discussion is not without foundation. Evenepoel\u2019s 2026 campaign has once again highlighted just how effective he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,39733,8396,85,2845],"class_list":{"0":"post-631820","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-red-bull-bora-hansgrohe","12":"tag-remco-evenepoel","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tour-de-france"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631820","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=631820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}