Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) added the European road title to his World Championships triumph at the 2025 UEC Road European Championships, converting a 75km solo attack into glory in Guilherand-Granges, despite Belgian coach Serge Pauwels warning that an attack that far out would “end badly”.
The day out in Drôme-Ardèche was yet another dominant triumph for the Slovenian a week on from his 66km solo breakaway effort in Rwanda.
There was no reply as he made his move after 127km of the race, with Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) left to lead the chase behind as a select chase group formed while Pogačar sped off up the road. Once again, though, nobody could stand in Pogačar’s way as he rampaged to another stunning notch on his palmarès.
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In the end, Evenepoel rolled in at 31 seconds down to take another silver medal after his efforts in Rwanda. There would be some wait before Frenchman Paul Seixas came home to take the final podium spot and the bronze medal. The 19-year-old celebrated a major early career achievement as he raced to third place at 3:41 down on Pogačar.
Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) in pursuit ahead of Juan Ayuso (Spain) and Paul Seixas (France) (Image credit: Getty Images)
Further back, Cristian Scaroni salvaged fourth place for Italy at 4:04 down, while Toms Skujins (Latvia) rounded out the top five at 4:16 down.
“I find myself in the front and I tried to keep a good gap around one minute. It was a comfortable gap. I don’t think it was super dominant. Remco was chasing me and I couldn’t give up until the finish line. I had to push really, really hard. I’m happy it’s over and another title,” Pogačar said after his victory.
“Obviously we knew that the race would be the hardest on the third climb. They started to attack on the second time and we started to lose some teammates. Domen [Novak] and Matevz [Govekar] were still going really strong to keep everything together.
“On the third lap I saw there was four or five Belgians and I was alone, so it was better to be on the attack than together with too many guys who can attack you, so I tried and I succeeded.”
How it unfolded
Slovenia in control (Image credit: Getty Images)
The 10th running of the UEC Road European Championships saw the peloton tackle a 202.5km course featuring 3,400 metres of elevation with major climbs along the route including Saint Romain de Lerps (7km at 7.2%), raced three times, and the decisive finishing circuit climb of Val D’Enfer (1.6km at 9.7%), which featured six times on the route.
Early on, a breakaway group went away with a strong group of riders including Daan Hoole (Netherlands), Mathias Vacek (Czechia), Louis Vervaeke (Belgium), Marco Frigo (Italy), and Victor Langelotti (Monaco). The group raced to a lead of 2:30 as Slovenia managed the gap and controlled the front of the peloton on behalf of race favourite Pogačar.
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Back in the peloton, the action kicked off as Belgium pushed on at the front. As Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) dropped back and out of the running, Pavel Sivakov (France) launched a move at the front, his attack causing a reaction from Pogačar, Evenepoel, and the other top contenders.
Evenepoel took the chance to push on alone in front, attacking the descent of Saint Romain de Lerps before going again shortly afterwards in response to a Jan Christen (Switzerland) move. The world time trial champion found Pogačar and Seixas on his wheel, however.
With 90km to go, the eventual podium trio swiftly bridged across to the remains of the breakaway, which included Hoole and Vervaeke. This wouldn’t be the decisive move, however, as around 30 riders made it back to the front, including key names such as Scaroni, Sivakov, Skujins, Juan Ayuso (Spain), Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark), and Romain Grégoire (France).
Mathijs Paaschens and Dan Hoole (Netherlands) on the attack with Mathias Vacek (Czechia). (Image credit: Getty Images)
Belgium had strength in numbers with the likes of Vervaeke, Tiesj Benoot and Steff Cras working for Evenepoel, but the now solitary Pogačar sensed the potential danger and made his move on the final ascent of Saint Romain de Lerps.
His move, 76km from the finish line, was the killer blow of the five-hour race, with only Evenepoel able to follow at first. However, he too had to let go as Pogačar go, unable to stand the pace. He’d eventually see Seixas come across to work as part of a chasing duo, though the pair could do little as Pogačar raced to a 20-second lead.
They wouldn’t get any closer than that, though, as the solo leader entered the final 50km of the race with half a minute in hand.
His gap kept on growing as more riders – including Ayuso and Scaroni – came across to the chase. Pogačar kept pushing on, extending his advantage over a minute heading into the final 40km. The win was gone in all but name for those behind at that point, given Pogačar’s reputation, but Evenepoel kept on battling.
He wouldn’t come close to catching the Slovenian, but he did at least manage to break away from his classmates, going clear at 38km to go on the descent of the Val d’Enfer – with two ascents left to run.
He wouldn’t make much of an impact on Pogačar’s lead, though he did put distance between himself and the rest of the medal hopefuls. He had more than enough strength to leave them behind in his quest for silver, while further back Seixas was aggressive in the battle for the bronze medal.
The young Frenchman attacked several times on the final ascent of the Val d’ender, eventually cracking Ayuso and Scaroni before the summit.
Out front, Pogačar raced to the finish line untroubled to record another major championships victory and his 18th win of the season. Behind him, his rivals were scattered minutes down the road. Evenepoel came home a creditable half-minute back for silver, while Seixas enjoyed the best result of his young career to date with bronze.
Evenepoel, Pogacar and Seixas on the podium (Image credit: Getty Images)Results
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