Tadej Pogacar is certain to race the 2026 Tour de France and skip the Vuelta a España, however Remco Evenepoel‘s father Patrick has seemingly opened the door for a different scenario. He argues the Slovenian is considering skipping the Grand Boucle and racing the Giro-Vuelta double instead.“When I hear you [referring to the other guests on the show] talk, it sounds like a very hard Tour. But are you sure Pogačar will go? You keep talking about him, but I don’t think he’ll ride the Tour this year,” Patrick Evenepoel said to ‘On connaît nos classiques’. “He wants to do the Giro and the Vuelta. That comes from inside the peloton”.
However the Belgian may not be fully informed, or at least outdated. Pogacar has on multiple occasions said that the Canadian classics fit well with the Canada World Championships next year and with the hilly course, he should be the main favourite for a third rainbow jersey. With the opportunity of winning a record-matching fifth Tour de France and also the sponsor pressure to do so, it’s vastly considered certain that he will be present there, and also very likely that he will skip the Vuelta. Which brings the question on where that discourse has emerged from in the peloton.
On Remco himself though, Evenepoel senior does not want to feed into the discourse: “We do not talk much about racing right now. The season is over, and it is up to him and his new team to build the programme. Things can change quickly. We saw it last year, an illness, a small accident, and everything is gone.”
However the Tour de France presence is possible indeed. “I think it is possible. And if he rides the Tour, they will aim for a big result. But both Vingegaard and Pogacar might also want that yellow jersey.”
The Tour isn’t won in the time trials
The rider who may not at all be present at the Tour however is Evenepoel himself, as the course features barely a single kilometer of flat time trialing where the Olympic, World and European champion can make the difference, but is instead focused in the high mountains almost exclusively.
But Patrick argues that this won’t ultimately make a difference in the choice. “You don’t win a Tour in the time trial. You win it in the mountains. Whether there are 40, 50 or 60 kilometers against the clock, it will not change much. In the last week you can be three minutes ahead and still lose ten in a single stage.”
“Everyone knows he is very strong mentally. In his first Tour he finished on the podium. Last year he was not ready, that is clear. But with a good winter and good preparation, without bad luck, let’s touch wood, he can arrive at 100 percent and get a great result.”