2026 European Championships Men's ITT preview: Evenepoel vacates throne, leaving title up for grabs

Twelve months ago, Remco Evenepoel powered to the European time trial title in Étoile-su-Rhône, for the first time since 2019. Just like he had done so in Kigali, Rwanda just over a week prior, he blitzed the field, with Filippo Ganna being the best of the rest. 

Behind the formidable duo, it was Niklas Larsen of Denmark who pulled off a coup for the bronze medal, narrowly pipping the British pairing of Ethan Hayter and Josh Tarling. 

This season, Evenepoel has taken his time trial dominance to another level, winning all four races against the clock that he has contested, including the World Championships for a record fourth consecutive edition.

However, after winning the European Championship road race on Sunday, the Belgian confirmed that he would not defend his time trial title, instead turning his attention to Il Lombardia next weekend. That leaves the door open to a host of other contenders. 

With former two-time world champion Filippo Ganna also absent, it could be a very close-run race on Wednesday. 

• 📅 Date: Wednesday, 7 October 2026
• 📍 Route: Šenčur - Šenčur
• 📏 Distance: 22.1km / 13.7 miles
• ⛰️ Elevation Gain: 367m / 1,204ft
• ⏱️ Start Time: 16:15 CET
• 🏁 Expected Finish: 17:32 CET

Starting and finishing in Šenčur, the 2026 European Championships time trial covers 22.1km and features 367m of elevation gain. 

The route follows the same circuit as the road race, so most of the riders will already be familiar with what's ahead of them in a racing capacity, with the maximum gradient reaching 15.8%, according to the official race website.

All six categories (women’s junior, men’s junior, women’s under-23, men’s under-23, women’s elite, and men’s elite) will tackle the same time trial course. 

From the start in Šenčur, the opening kilometres are flat before the road starts to gently climb towards a short ascent at Olševek. 

Then, when the riders reach Tupaliče, a sharp right-hand turn awaits, which marks the beginning of the climb towards Možjanca, the most significant on the circuit, where the biggest differences can be made.

The first intermediate checkpoint comes at the bottom of the climb, with the second shortly before the descent.

Once the riders reach the crest, a narrow road will carry them over some rolling terrain towards Štefanja Vas, before the technical descent begins towards the lower cable-car station at Krvavec. 

The speeds will remain high as the riders head through Cerklje na Gorenjskem before the final flat seven kilometres, ensuring a high-speed run back towards the finish in Šenčur.

In the absence of both Remco Evenepoel and Filippo Ganna, the contest for the European stripes is wide open. 

One rider who could be primed to capitalise is Stefan Küng (Switzerland), who knows what it takes to become European champion, having done so in 2020 and 2021. 

The Swiss star had a tumultuous start to the season, breaking his femur in a crash at Omloop Nieuwsblad. However, Küng came back strong, winning time trial stages at both the Tour de Pologne and Vuelta a España.

After finishing seventh in the time trial in Montréal, Küng produced an even more impressive performance in the road race to finish 14th on a course that seemed to suit him a lot less than the riders with whom he finished amongst. Something that bodes well with the Možjanca ascent. 

This puts the Swiss star among the leading contenders to challenge in Slovenia, as he looks to reach the dizzying heights of 2020 and 2021 once more.

Primož Roglič and Jan Tratnik (Slovenia) will feature for the host nation after their exploits in the road race, where they finished 10th and 19th, respectively. 

Roglič is a former Olympic and current Slovenian champion and has finished in the top ten in five out of the seven time trials he has started this season. 

His most recent time trial performance was fourth place on stage 18 of the Vuelta a España, where he finished 18 seconds behind stage winner Küng over 32.1km. 

He was the best of the GC contenders on that occasion, and will line up for the European Championships with much fresher legs compared to being deep into the third week of a Grand Tour. 

The Možjanca climb will be a key section of the course where Roglič could look to take advantage over the powerhouse specialists. 

Jakob Söderqvist (Sweden) will also be one of the most intriguing riders to watch, following his Worlds heartbreak. 

The Swede was on track to secure the bronze medal in Montréal before he suffered a crash in the closing kilometres. 

Despite rapidly getting to his feet and remounting, the crash scuppered his medal aspirations, and he finished fifth. 

It was a strong result nonetheless and will have only fuelled Söderqvist's motivation to secure a medal in Slovenia.

After Larsen's bronze medal last year, Denmark also has a couple of contenders who will be hoping to stand on the podium in Slovenia.

Kasper Asgreen (Denmark) finished eighth in Montréal, while Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark) finished twelfth. Asgreen is a former runner-up in this event, having finished 19 seconds behind Evenepoel in Alkmaar back in 2019. 

Though he is regarded as a Classics specialist rather than a time trialist, Asgreen's power serves him well in the race against the clock. 

Bjerg meanwhile finished fourth at the Euros in 2023 and 2024, narrowly missing the podium.

Additionally, he missed out on the Danish title this season by less than a second, and these near misses could serve as extra motivation to try and reach the podium in Slovenia.

Great Britain didn't take part in the road race, focusing on the time trial, with Ethan Hayter and Callum Thornley leading the British charge.

Both delivered some of the strongest time trial performances at the Vuelta, with Hayter finishing second on stage 1 and ninth on stage 18, while Thornley finished fourth on stage 1 and second on stage 18. 

In his debut in the elite category at the Worlds, Thornley finished an impressive tenth and could build upon that result with a strong performance in Slovenia.

Bruno Armirail (France) was one of the most influential riders during the road race in Montréal. The Frenchman pushed a relentless pace at the front of the peloton for the opening laps of the local circuit, which ultimately sapped the strength of most riders in the race, leading to an attritional finale.

While 26th wasn't the result the Frenchman was looking for in the time trial, his performance in the road race indicates that he is capable of improving on his Euros-best of ninth place from last year. 

Iván Romeo (Spain) will make his debut in the elite category in this event, and finished 15th in Montréal. His fifth-place finish in the road race on Sunday confirms that the 23-year-old is in good form, and he is one of the stronger climbers on the start list with the Možjanca climb to contend with. 

Mattia Cattaneo (Italy) finished third back in 2024 and was part of the winning Italian team in the mixed relay event in Montréal.

Ilan Van Wilder (Belgium) will feature for Belgium in the absence of Evenepoel, while Nelson Oliveira (Portugal) remains an ever-present in the top 10 mix, with all three being some of the riders who should favour the Možjanca climb the most.