Pogacar reflects on a perfect season but admits Evenepoel’s next step 'scares him'

He starts by acknowledging that there are moments when even he has to accept defeat. “I already lost, so it is game over for me. Maxim Van Gils beat me,” he said to Sporza with a grin. “I enjoyed it though. I prefer losing a padel match over losing a race, because that is still my job.”

The past weeks were less about reliving victories and more about disconnecting. “Do I relive my wins? No, not really. I just took time to relax with good people around me. In Mallorca we had a week of amazing weather.” 

He adds one quiet warning. “I also did some good training.”

Even with a trophy cabinet few riders will ever match, he looks ahead without the pressure of numbers. “Maybe I cannot do better in terms of wins on the bike, but I can improve in daily life,” he tells. 

“The meaning of life is to be happy and to do good for others. So I want to find a good balance.” The competitor in him is never far away though. 

“I want to fight again for Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix. Winning a classic is much bigger than going into it thinking you can win. Every journalist makes those races my big goals, but I just want to do my best.”

The conversation shifts naturally toward the Tour de France and the building rivalry with Remco Evenepoel, who moved to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. The two riders closed the 2025 season with a series of head to head battles at the World Championships, the European Championships and Il Lombardia, where Pogačar held the upper hand and Evenepoel repeatedly finished in second place.

Pogačar expresses his curiosity towards next year. “For Remco the change can be good. He went from one super team to another. It will be interesting to see if he can take another step.” 

Then comes the line that reveals more than he perhaps intended. “I hope not, because I already find him very strong and dominant. It scares me that he could become even better. But I think he will do well. The whole world will follow his next steps with great interest.”

Evenepoel himself explained to Het Nieuwsblad after the European Championships how he believes he can close the gap. “It’s not about one minute power. We’re already going full gas before that. It’s about sustaining that intensity for three to five minutes. I worked on it in the summer, and I feel I’m getting better, but this winter we’ll need to really focus on it.”