{"id":205096,"date":"2025-10-16T21:49:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/205096\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T21:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:49:07","slug":"remco-evenepoel-is-studying-how-pogacar-attacks-experts-reveal-how-the-olympic-champion-plans-to-fight-back-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/205096\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRemco Evenepoel is studying how Pogacar attacks\u201d \u2013 Experts reveal how the Olympic champion plans to fight back in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

While many in the peloton appear resigned to Tadej Pogacar<\/a>\u2019s dominance, Remco Evenepoel<\/a> is, according to Het Nieuwsblad analysts Jan-Pieter De Vlieger and Guy Van den Langenbergh, quietly dissecting the Slovenian\u2019s methods \u2014 and learning exactly how to fight back.Speaking on the Caf\u00e9 Koers podcast<\/a>, De Vlieger suggested that the Olympic champion and reigning time trial world champion is approaching Pogacar\u2019s supremacy not with frustration, but with forensic analysis. \u201cYou can see that he\u2019s studying how Pogacar\u2019s attacks actually work,\u201d De Vlieger explained. \u201cI also read in the commentary that Pogacar doesn\u2019t really shift gears; he simply increases his cadence.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the analyst, Evenepoel has identified the critical window in Pogacar\u2019s arsenal \u2014 those one or two minutes of explosive acceleration that decide most races. \u201cEvenepoel\u2019s assessment is that he loses out in those acceleration moments, and that afterwards it more or less stabilises. So he knows he has to find a response to that initial surge \u2014 those one or two minutes when the gap is made. That\u2019s what he seems to be working on.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nA rivalry still in development<\/p>\n

Evenepoel\u2019s determination to close that gap has been a recurring storyline throughout 2025. The pair clashed repeatedly across the spring and summer, with Pogacar taking victories at both the Tour of Flanders and Liege\u2013Bastogne\u2013Liege \u2014 races where Evenepoel once reigned supreme \u2014 before the Belgian gained a measure of redemption later in the year.<\/p>\n

His standout moment came in Kigali, where he claimed a third consecutive world time trial title, beating Jay Vine and Ilan van Wilder while even catching Pogacar on the road. The display underscored his ongoing evolution \u2014 not just as a powerhouse against the clock, but as a rider with the tactical and physical tools to eventually threaten Pogacar\u2019s grip on the biggest races.<\/p>\n

While Pogacar continues to sweep the Monuments and dominate the Grand Tours, Evenepoel\u2019s camp remains patient. His move to Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe<\/a> for 2026 is seen as a new phase in that pursuit, with the team promising a more tailored environment to refine his climbing and endurance capabilities \u2014 key battlegrounds in any future duels with the Slovenian.\u201cThe exception\u201d to resignation<\/p>\n

In a season where many rivals have seemingly surrendered to Pogacar\u2019s superiority, De Vlieger and Van den Langenbergh see Evenepoel as the outlier \u2014 the rare figure still searching for a blueprint to beat cycling\u2019s most complete rider.<\/p>\n

Whether that pursuit yields tangible results remains to be seen, but for now, Evenepoel\u2019s methodical approach offers something increasingly scarce in the modern peloton: a genuine belief that Pogacar\u2019s dominance can, one day, be broken.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While many in the peloton appear resigned to Tadej Pogacar\u2019s dominance, Remco Evenepoel is, according to Het Nieuwsblad…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-205096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}