Even aggressive roadside fans could not stop Tadej Pogačar from winning at the European Championships road race on Sunday, with the Slovenian deciding that attack was the best form of defence after the Belgian and French teams tried to isolate him with 80km to go.
The Rhone Valley climbs in southeast France were packed with largely well-behaved fans, but some were aggressive towards Pogačar and even seemed to find it fun to slap stickers on his back, not understanding the need to respect the riders and prioritise their safety.
Pogačar did not appear to notice and powered on alone to victory, finishing 31 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and 3:41 ahead of 19-year-old French revelation Paul Seixas. Pogačar pulled on the white European champion’s jersey on the podium but will never race in it as his World Champion’s rainbow jersey takes precedence under UCI rules.
“With a little pain and suffering, I’m super happy and proud we could pull it off again with the national team,” Pogačar said post-race.
“For me, it’s quite an important title. It’s not the same level as Worlds, but the jersey is super nice. A lot of riders and races are from Europe, so it was a tough field – it means a lot.”
Pogačar added the European title to his world title won in Rwanda a week ago, his fourth Tour de France victory and multiple Classics wins in 2025.
He will next ride Tuesday’s Tre Valli Varesine race in Italy and then target a record fifth consecutive victory at Il Lombardia on Saturday as his UAE Team Emirates-XRG team near 100 season victories.
“Every year I say to myself it’s my next season so far, but then next year comes and it’s a better season. But soon enough, there will be a moment where I won’t be able to top it off,” Pogačar said modestly.
The Slovenian team controlled the 202km European Championships for the first half of the race, but then Belgium and France tried to isolate Pogačar on the final climb of Saint Romain de Lerps before the easier finishing circuits.
Pogačar sensed he had to take control and attack to avoid being outnumbered later in the…
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