The Mozjanca climb awaits: Inside the 2026 European Championships route
The road races head from Ljubljana to the local circuit in Sencur, where a 2.1km climb averaging 10.2% to Mozjanca could prove crucial.
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After a week of thrilling rainbow jersey contests in Canada at the UCI Road World Championships, attention quickly turns to the upcoming UEC Road European Championships taking place in Slovenia from Friday, October 2 to Wednesday, October 7.
While one of the biggest storylines is the absence of defending champion Tadej Pogačar on home soil, following his crash at the Vuelta a España, there are still many stars set to fight it out for the European stripes over a tricky route.
In total, the men’s elite race, which takes place on Sunday, is 196.3km in length with 2,571m of elevation gain, while the women’s elite, taking place on Saturday, is 130km in length with 1,359m of elevation gain.
The six road races across the different categories, including the elites, will centre around a 22.1km circuit that includes 367m of elevation gain.
Both elite races begin in Ljubljana, covering 85.8km before reaching the local circuit in Šenčur, where the European titles will be awarded. The women's elite will tackle two laps of the circuit, while the men's elite will complete five laps.
The centrepiece of the circuit is the ascent to Možjanca, where the strongest climbers should come to the fore. The climb is 2.1km in length, with an average of 10.2% and ramps up to 15.8%.
The steep climb is followed by rolling roads through Štefanja Gora rather than an immediate descent, before a technical drop towards Krvavec and a fast run back through the valley. Strmol Castle comes with just over seven kilometres remaining on each lap.
In the absence of defending champion Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) is set to spearhead the start list for the men’s elite race alongside the likes of Juan Ayuso (Spain), Giulio Ciccone (Italy), Mads Pedersen (Denmark) and home favourite Primož Roglič (Slovenia).
The course shares some characteristics with the 2026 Worlds in Montréal, where repeated climbs, technical sections and changes of pace are also designed to build cumulative fatigue, although the European route concentrates more of its difficulty around one steep climb rather than the three distinct ascents on the Mont Royal circuit.
Meanwhile, Demi Vollering (Netherlands) is set to defend her European title after completing the triple crown by becoming world champion in Montréal last Saturday.
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