Evenepoel to skip Giro and Tour of Flanders in 2026 as he targets Tour de France
Olympic cycling champion Remco Evenepoel will miss the Giro d'Italia and the Tour of Flanders next season as he focuses on the Tour de France. He announced his plans for 2026 at an event with his new team, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
Evenepoel’s first competition with his new team will be the team time trial at the Challenge Mallorca on 29 January. There has been speculation in recent weeks about his participation in the Giro or the Tour of Flanders.
“I would have really liked to have gone to the Giro, was a real fan of the course,” Evenepoel said. “But after last year [when he needed a long rehabilitation after a crash in the winter], we mainly want to run a normal season. The Giro-Tour combination might still come a bit too soon. I want to grow back to the level I used to reach.”
The 2025 Tour de France ended in disappointment for Evenepoel, who won the Stage 5 time trial but had to abandon the race at Stage 14. He went on to win the time trial at September’s World Cycling Championships in Rwanda with a dominant performance to claim his third consecutive world title.
After his Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe debut in Mallorca, Evenepoel will work on two stage races in Spain: the Tour of Valencia in February and the Tour of Catalonia in March. He will add an altitude training camp in spring and possibly a third stage race, yet to be determined. After that, the Ardennes classics will follow.
Evenepoel will officially move from Soudal Quick-Step to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe on 1 January.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO MARCO ALPOZZI / LAPRESSE
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