Remco Evenepoel extends season beyond Il Lombardia

The Belgian is set to line up in Les Herbiers on October 18, eight days after Il Lombardia, meaning his first season with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will stretch deep into October.

Evenepoel confirmed the decision after winning the World Championships time trial in Montreal on Sunday, where he claimed a record fourth consecutive rainbow jersey in the discipline. He explained that the race will also provide another opportunity to test the new time trial bike he has developed with Specialized.

"It has been a few years since I was last at the start there," Evenepoel said, according to In de Leiderstrui. "Together with Specialized we have developed a new bike, so we want to keep testing it. There are still some areas of the bike that can be improved and that is the main reason why I will start the Chrono des Nations."

His return adds another race to an already busy end of season. Evenepoel is due to contest the World Championship road race in Montreal on Sunday, followed by the European Championship road race in Slovenia on October 4 and Il Lombardia six days later.

The extended programme comes at the end of a successful first campaign with the German team.

Evenepoel started 2026 with victories at the Trofeo Serra Tramuntana and Trofeo Andratx before winning the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana overall. His strong spring continued with third place on his Tour of Flanders debut and victory at the Amstel Gold Race, before he finished second overall at the Tour de France, where he won two stages, including the stage 16 individual time trial.

His summer continued with victory at the Clásica San Sebastián before he returned to racing in Canada in September. Evenepoel won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and finished fifth in Montréal before taking another world time trial title a week later.

That latest victory further strengthened an already remarkable record against the clock. Evenepoel has now won the elite men's world time trial title four years in succession, from Glasgow in 2023 through Zürich, Kigali and Montréal.

The Chrono des Nations is familiar territory for Evenepoel. He won the junior event in 2018, beating Donovan Grondin by 1:10 over the 26.45km course.

His first appearance in the elite race ended with fifth place in 2021, 1:22 behind winner Stefan Küng. Evenepoel came much closer on his most recent visit in 2023, when Josh Tarling beat the then world champion by just 13 seconds over 45.43km.

One time trial challenge that remains further down the road is the Hour Record. Filippo Ganna has held the mark since October 2022, when he covered 56.792 kilometres in Grenchen, and Evenepoel believes it is an achievement he could eventually target.

"I haven't really thought about it yet, to be honest, but it is clear that one day I would like to try," Evenepoel said. "I think I have the qualities to take that record."

There is no immediate plan to pursue it, however, with Evenepoel making clear that his ambitions on the road remain the priority.

"There are still many other objectives in the Grand Tours and already this Sunday," he said, referring to the World Championship road race. "There are many more goals that take priority over the Hour Record."