Remco Evenepoel heads into the 2026 European Championships men’s road race as the clearest reference point in a field that still contains one major uncertainty: Tadej Pogačar remains on the preliminary entry list, but his actual participation now looks increasingly unlikely.
Pogačar is the defending champion after his 75km solo victory in France last year, yet he has not raced since crashing out of the Vuelta a España with a fractured collarbone and vertebral injury. His name on the UEC entry sheet has kept rumours of a surprise home return alive, but UAE Team Emirates-XRG have said there are no plans for him to race again in 2026, while Slovenia’s official championship promotion now states that he will not defend his title because of injury.
Unless that position changes before the final start list is published, Slovenia’s challenge should instead revolve around Primož Roglič, with Matej Mohorič, Jan Tratnik, Domen Novak and a deep home squad around him. Belgium bring Evenepoel, Denmark have Mads Pedersen, Spain include Juan Ayuso and Switzerland can call on Marc Hirschi.
The route is built for a selective race rather than a conventional bunch sprint. The 196.3km course from Ljubljana to Šenčur contains 2,571 metres of climbing, with five laps of a 22.1km finishing circuit and five ascents of Možjanca, a 2.1km climb averaging 10.2% and reaching 15.8%.
Previous winners
2025 – Tadej Pogačar
2024 – Tim Merlier
2023 – Christophe Laporte
2026 European Championships men’s road race route
The elite men start on Kongresni trg in central Ljubljana before a 9km neutralised section takes the race through the city and out towards the official start in Šentvid.
The first 85.8km are much less severe than the closing half of the race. The course heads through Škofja Loka and Kranj before crossing towards Kamnik, Komenda and Cerklje na Gorenjskem, giving a breakaway time to establish before the peloton reaches Šenčur.
From there, the race changes completely. Five laps of the 22.1km circuit account for more than 1,800 metres of the day’s climbing, with Možjanca providing the repeated selection point. The climb is short, but an average of 10.2% means there is nowhere to hide once the pace rises.
The road remains awkward after the steepest section rather than dropping immediately into an easy descent. Riders continue over rolling terrain towards Štefanja Gora before a technical descent towards the Krvavec cable-car area and a faster run back towards Šenčur.
The final passage over Možjanca comes with roughly 13km remaining. A rider who opens a small gap there still has to defend it across the crest and through the descent, but the same roads also make an organised chase difficult if the group behind is reduced and unwilling to cooperate. The full course is covered in our 2026 European Championships route guide.
Photo Credit: GettyRemco Evenepoel has the clearest route to victory
Evenepoel finished second to Pogačar at last year’s European Championships and comes to Slovenia only a week after winning a fourth consecutive World Championships time trial title in Montréal.
The road race there did not go as he wanted. Evenepoel was active but repeatedly found himself reacting to moves rather than controlling them, eventually finishing 12th, 25 seconds behind Brandon McNulty. That result says more about the tactical disorder of the race than it does about his condition.
The Slovenian circuit may be easier for Belgium to shape. Možjanca is steep enough for Evenepoel to attack on the climb, while the rolling section afterwards gives him space to use the sustained power that has made long-range moves so effective throughout his career.
Belgium also have Lennert Van Eetvelt, Maxim Van Gils, Quinten Hermans, Ilan Van Wilder and Louis Vervaeke among the preliminary entries. That gives them enough climbing depth to avoid using Evenepoel simply to close every move. His latest time trial world title is covered in our look at Evenepoel’s four-title World Championships run.
What about Tadej Pogačar?
Pogačar’s name remains on the official UEC entry list, which explicitly includes reserve riders. That is the main reason talk of a late comeback has not disappeared completely.
The more recent evidence points the other way. UAE Team Emirates-XRG have said there are no plans for Pogačar to race again this season after the injuries from his Vuelta crash, while official Slovenian tourism material for the championships says he will not defend the European title. The event organiser’s latest pre-race update also highlighted Evenepoel, Pedersen, Ayuso, Hirschi and Giovanni Aleotti among the expected stars but did not list Pogačar, adding that Slovenia’s final team would be announced in the coming days.
A surprise return cannot be ruled out until the final start list appears, but at this stage it would be a genuine change of plan rather than the expected outcome. Our earlier update on Pogačar’s recovery after the Vuelta crash explains why his season was expected to end early.
Photo Credit: GettyPrimož Roglič becomes Slovenia’s key rider if Pogačar is absent
Roglič would give the home crowd a very different type of contender. He finished second overall at the Vuelta a España after arriving with disrupted preparation following a training crash, then rode aggressively in Montréal before finishing 21st at the World Championships.
The five repetitions of Možjanca should suit him better than the long attritional climbs of a Grand Tour. His acceleration on steep gradients remains one of his strongest weapons, and the final climb is close enough to the finish for a well-timed move to survive.
Slovenia’s numbers are another advantage. Mohorič can anticipate on the technical roads, Tratnik and Novak can work deep into the circuit, and Gal Glivar offers another option if the race is less selective than expected. Roglič should not need to spend the first four laps responding to every move himself.
His Vuelta was strong without producing a fifth overall victory, with Enric Mas eventually beating him by 2:15. Our analysis of how Roglič lost the 2026 Vuelta also shows how much form he was carrying into the final weeks of the season despite the imperfect build-up.
Mads Pedersen is harder to dismiss after Montréal
On paper, five ascents of a 10% climb look like too much for Pedersen. His World Championships ride makes that assumption less comfortable.
The Dane finished sixth in Montréal, only 14 seconds behind McNulty, after recovering from the illness that forced him out of the Vuelta before stage 11. Earlier in the summer he won the Tour de France green jersey, showing again that his ability to absorb climbing has moved well beyond the profile of a pure sprinter.
Denmark can also use Mikkel Honoré, Andreas Kron, Kasper Asgreen and Søren Kragh Andersen to make the race less predictable. Pedersen’s main problem is the final ascent. If Evenepoel, Roglič or Ayuso turn Možjanca into a climbing test at full speed, he may simply have too much ground to recover in 13km. If the favourites hesitate, his sprint becomes one of the strongest reasons not to let a group reform.
Photo Credit: GettyJuan Ayuso returns to a course that suits his acceleration
Ayuso was sixth at the 2025 European Championships and finished 13th at the World Championships in Montréal. He lost contact with the front in the later stages there, but a 196km European Championships course is a different proposition to the 273km Worlds race.
Spain’s team is built around climbers rather than a sprint option. Ayuso is joined on the preliminary list by Urko Berrade, Cristian Rodríguez and Iván Romeo, giving the team freedom to attack before the final lap rather than wait for Belgium and Slovenia to dictate the pace.
Možjanca is also close to the kind of short, steep climb on which Ayuso can make an immediate difference. He does not need to ride away for 40km. A hard acceleration on the last ascent followed by cooperation with one or two riders over the crest could be enough.
France and Italy have depth even without their biggest Worlds names
France do not have Paul Seixas on the preliminary elite entry list, but Romain Grégoire, Kévin Vauquelin, Pavel Sivakov and Clément Berthet still give them several ways to approach the race.
Grégoire is the most natural fit for a reduced finish, while Vauquelin and Sivakov can race more aggressively on the repeated climbs. France’s best chance may come from refusing to wait for Evenepoel’s move and instead forcing Belgium to chase during the fourth circuit.
Italy arrive with similar depth. Christian Scaroni finished 18th at the World Championships and was fourth at last year’s Europeans, while Giulio Pellizzari, Giovanni Aleotti, Alberto Bettiol and Diego Ulissi all offer different options. The lack of one overwhelming leader may help Italy on a course where repeated attacks should be more useful than setting a controlled tempo for one rider.
Marc Hirschi, Toms Skujiņš and Attila Valter are dangerous outsiders
Marc Hirschi has not had the same 2026 season as some of the headline contenders, but the shape of the circuit still suits him. Short steep climbing, technical roads and the possibility of a reduced group are all familiar territory, and Switzerland can also use Jan Christen and Fabio Christen to attack earlier.
Toms Skujiņš was fifth at the 2025 European Championships and remains one of the strongest riders in this field for a race that becomes tactical after repeated climbing. Attila Valter is another who can benefit if the bigger nations begin watching one another too closely.
Mathias Vacek gives Czechia a realistic option, while Felix Großschartner leads an Austrian group with enough climbing ability to stay present deep into the race. Great Britain’s preliminary entry is much smaller, with Ethan Hayter and Callum Thornley named rather than the Pidcock-Onley combination used at the World Championships.
How the men’s European Championships could be won
The first 85km should allow a conventional breakaway to form, but the five-lap circuit gives the main nations too many opportunities to make the race selective for that move to feel secure.
The third and fourth ascents of Možjanca are likely to decide how many genuine contenders reach the final lap. Belgium have the squad to keep Evenepoel protected, while Slovenia can use Mohorič, Tratnik and Novak around Roglič. Denmark have a different incentive: preserve Pedersen for as long as possible and force everyone else to decide whether he can still be dropped.
Evenepoel’s strongest scenario is probably a small group or solo move established before the final descent. Roglič would prefer the decisive acceleration to come later, with less road for a chase to organise. Ayuso sits somewhere between the two, while Pedersen wants enough riders left that the final 13km become a chase rather than a time trial.
The course rewards strength, but it also rewards national teams willing to use numbers before the obvious favourites make their move. Montréal showed how quickly a championship race can escape the strongest riders when the chase becomes disorganised. Slovenia’s circuit offers exactly the same tactical risk, compressed into five steep laps.
How to watch the 2026 men’s European Championships road race
The elite men’s road race starts in Ljubljana at 12:30 CEST on Sunday 4 October, which is 11:30 BST in the UK. The finish is expected at around 17:10 CEST, or 16:10 BST.
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Photo Credit: Getty
UK coverage is scheduled on TNT Sports and HBO Max, with the broadcast window beginning shortly before the race. The final channel allocation on TNT Sports can move around other live events, while HBO Max provides the streaming option.
Top 3 prediction
1. Remco Evenepoel
2. Primož Roglič
3. Juan Ayuso
