Evenepoel, facing his best option to be crowned European champion due to the absence of Pogacar
He Belgian He will participate in the online race, in which he was second in 2021 and 2025, and in the time trial, in which he won in 2025. Pogacar fell in the Return to Spain and his team confirmed that he would not race again in 2026, despite the significance of some Europeans in his native country. Although the leader of the UAE cycling during his recovery, has not been selected by Sloveniawhich will have in Primoz Roglic to their leader both online and in time trials.
They will also not be in Ljubljana the dutch Mathieu van der Poelwho decided, after the bronze in the Worldend your season; he Belgian Wout van Aertwho confirmed that he will return directly for the cyclocross; he French Paul Seixaswhich focuses its preparation on the Tour of Lombardy; nor the Danish Jonas Vingegaardwhich he abandoned in European 2025 and has not competed since Tour this year, in which he suffered a spectacular fall.
Other rivals for Evenepoel and Roglic will be the Danish Mads Pedersen and the Spanish Juan Ayuso. The first one stayed close to the medals in Montreal playing a secondary role during almost the entire test, and the second goes to Ljubljana with many different colleagues compared to those of the Worldincluding the reduction of Enric Mas.
In the women’s category, the Swiss Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and the Dutch Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), newly crowned world champions, are the favorites in time trial and online, respectively, to repeat the titles they achieved in 2025.
The Spanish Paula Blasi (UAE) will try to make up for its fall in the World a year after winning the European Championship in the under-23 category. Blasicurrent winner of the Return to Spaindid not finish the online test in Montreal and finished in a discreet eighteenth place in the time trial.
Furthermore, the European It will be an opportunity to consolidate for emerging talents that have already had a leading role in the World Cupslike the Spaniards BenjamÃn Noval and Alejandra Neiraonline champions in the junior category; Hector Alvarezdouble medalist in men’s under-23; wave Slovak Viktoria Chladonovagold in women’s under-23.
A route around Mozjanca
The online races will be held before (from October 2 to 4) than the time trials (on the 6th, for mixed relays, and on the 7th, all individual races). The calendar opens on the first day of competition for both the men’s and women’s under-23 categories.
These two races will be followed by the junior men’s and elite women’s events, ending on Sunday with the junior women’s and elite men’s events. They are all structured around a 22.1 kilometer circuit in which the protagonist is the ascent to Mozjanca (2.1 kilometers at 10.2% average slope, with maximums of 15.8%).
The junior men’s event will do five laps of that circuit, and the women’s event will do three. In under-23, the women will circle it four times, while the men will do a first section of 75.5 kilometers before doing three laps.
In elite, the initial section will be 85.7 kilometers, and then the circuit will be covered twice in the women’s category and five times in the men’s category. The time trial, the same for all categories, will consist of going around the circuit.
