No Pogačar, All the Pressure: Evenepoel Riding For Redemption after Worlds Washout

No Tadej Pogačar, no Paul Seixas, no Tom Pidcock: The European championship road race should be a walk in the park for Remco Evenepoel on Sunday.

Anything less than victory would be a catastrophe.

That’s the message churning up the Belgian media as the bike-mad nation picks over the debris of what’s been treated as a sporting disaster.

After starting last Sunday’s world championship road race as the team to beat, the Belgians were bullied by Team USA’s powershow in Montréal.

Evenepoel in 12th, Wout van Aert in 28th.

What the heck happened?

There’s been a Belgian public inquest ever since.

“They all failed,” fumed Belgian pro-turned-pundit Jans Bakelants as he dissected his home team’s performance in HLN.

“I find it inexplicable that they were all so bad,” he raged.

Evenepoel faced an online flagellation after he admitted he “just wasn’t good enough” in Montréal.

The Belgian dailies are still debating roster selections and speculating over a team sickness after Sunday’s worlds washout.

Evenepoel’s historic fourth consecutive world time trial title and standout podium finish at the Tour de France were forgotten about.

Evenepoel vs. Roglič? No Pogačar, Seixas, Pidcock in subdued Euro champs

Evenepoel can rapidly reset the narrative Sunday at Slovenia’s European championship road race.

He’s a tier above the rest of a start list weakened by fatigue, impoverished national federations, and straight-up apathy to a championship few seem to care about.

In fact, the one rider who does really care about this year’s Euros won’t even be racing.

Pogačar is a confirmed non-starter for his “home” race Sunday after this week’s “will-he-won’t-he” confab.

Meanwhile, Seixas is saving his legs for Il Lombardia, Pidcock’s British team chose to focus only on the TTs, and Mattias Skjelmose is out sick.

So who does Remco have to beat to reprise his curious new celebration and put the wheels back on his best season yet at the European championships?

Primož Roglič, Juan Ayuso, and Giulio Ciccone are Remco’s main rivals for the 196km race across Pogačar’s home turf.

Victory on Sunday would complete Evenepoel’s set of road titles, having already won the Olympic, world, and Belgian races. It would trampoline him toward an end-of-season showdown with Seixas and Isaac del Toro at Il Lombardia.

But even then, some might see it as a consolation prize.

Demi vs. Kasia (again) in women’s race

The women’s European road race on Saturday should be a thriller that more than offsets any potential one-man show on Sunday.

Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney will lock in for a third round of their battle royale in Saturday’s championships after they went 1-2 at both the Tour de France Femmes and road worlds.

Hot off a world title victory, Vollering is in prime position to defend her European title in Slovenia and earn a blue-and-white jersey she’ll never wear.

Niewiadoma proved in Montréal she won’t let Vollering have it easy.

Elisa Longo Borghini, Paula Blasi, Marlen Reusser, and Franziska Koch lead the opposition to the two women who have dominated this summer of cycling.

One climb will define the European championships

Both the men’s and women’s road races this weekend will be decided by the nasty ramps of the Mozjanca climb.

The women climb the 2.1km, 10% kicker twice in the back-half of their 130km race. The men take it on five times in their 196km race.

The women’s and men’s time trials take place on Wednesday, October 7.

Saturday, October 3: European championships women’s road race: 130km / 1,400m+

Riders to watch: Vollering (Netherlands), Niewiadoma-Phinney (Poland), Longo-Borghini (Italy), Reusser (Switzerland), Blasi (Spain), Koch (Germany).

Sunday, October 4: European championships men’s road race: 196km / 2,700m+

Riders to watch: Evenepoel (Belgium), Roglič (Slovenia), Ciccone, Pellizzari (both Italy), Ayuso (Spain), Pedersen (Denmark).