An open field with no Evenepoel or Ganna – Analysing the European Championships elite men's time trial contenders

Remco Evenepoel may have won the rainbow stripes in Canada to crown himself once again as the world's greatest time trialist, but the Belgian won't be present in Šenčur to go for the European title a third time.

Italian racer Filippo Ganna, who was top dog before Evenepoel came along, won't be present either, while the new cannibal Tadej Pogačar is also out. There's a wide-open field at the elite men's time trial at this year's UEC Road European Championships, then.

44 riders will tackle the 22.1km route in Šenčur, a challenging ride which features a two-in-one climb (2km at 10% and 900 metres at 4.7%) in the middle of the course – a feature which will have an outsized impact on the final result.

Last year's podium sitters Evenepoel, Ganna, and Dane Niklas Larsen aren't racing in Slovenia, so there'll be a trio of new faces atop the podium. There may very well be a first-time champion, too, with double champion Stefan Küng the only rider present to have won this title before.

So who's in the frame for the 2026 European title? Read on to find out.

Stefan Küng (Switzerland)

With the biggest names on the time trial scene not taking part in Tuesday's race, Swiss specialist Stefan Küng looks likely to step into the role of the top favourite for the blue bands of European champion.

He has won the event twice before, in 2020 and 2021, and he has finished on the podium another two times, taking a heartbreaking second place by a single second behind countryman Stefan Bissegger in Fürstenfeldbruck in 2022 and missing out to Edoardo Affini by nine seconds in Hasselt two years later.

The 32-year-old has been in good form recently, having scored his second career Vuelta a España stage victory last month with a two-second victory over Callum Thornley in Jerez de la Frontera on stage 18.

He wasn't on the podium at the Road World Championships, though, finishing in seventh place in the time trial, 1:44 down on world champion Evenepoel, and he also finished 18 seconds behind fellow competitor here, Jakob Söderqvist.

Primož Roglič (Slovenia)

With no Tadej Pogačar in the lineup, Primož Roglič heads into the race as Slovenia's great hope of a result.

The veteran racer has only taken part in one European Championships time trial in his career, finishing 16th at the 2016 Euros. He has fared better at the Worlds, meanwhile, scoring a silver medal the next year behind Tom Dumoulin.

36-year-old Roglič has certainly enjoyed an uptick in form in recent months, racing to second overall at the Vuelta a España, by far his best result of the season. His time trial effort in Jerez de la Frontera saw him place fourth in the 32.1km test, behind Küng and Thornley. He's certainly among the favourites for a medal on the hilly course in Šenčur.

Jakob Söderqvist (Sweden)

Jakob Söderqvist may only be a neo-pro, but he signed his Lidl-Trek contract as one of the most promising young time trialists in the world. In his final two years before turning pro, the Swede triumphed against the clock at the Worlds under-23 TT, the Flèche du Sud, Giro Next Gen, and under-23 Chrono des Nations, as well as adding Worlds and European silver to his collection.

Söderqvist started his year with a third place in the Volta ao Algarve TT before going on to second places in prologues at the Tour de Romandie and Boucles de la Mayenne, winning the Swedish national title, and, most recently, coming away with fifth place in Montreal, 1:26 off Evenepoel.

At 23, Söderqvist is one of the youngest men in the race, but he's well in the running for a medal.

Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark)

The first of the two Danish riders on our list, Mikkel Bjerg has twice come close to a medal in the European Championships, finishing 18 seconds adrift of bronze in 2022 and 26 seconds off the following year.

Bjerg hasn't been in the best form of his career this season, with eighth place in the 42km time trial to Massa at the Giro d'Italia his best TT result outside of the Danish Championships. Still, this race represents a better chance at a higher ranking for him, given the top contenders who won't be here.

As with some others on this list, the course isn't particularly to his advantage given the big hill which should be a deciding factor in the outcome of the medal placings. Still, he's a quality time triallist and should be there or thereabouts.

Bruno Armirail (France)

Bruno Armirail is France's main hope, though the 32-year-old is among the outsiders for a medal. His best result to date in three appearances at the Euros is ninth place on home ground last year.

He finished 26th at the recent Worlds time trial in Montreal, but impressed in the stage 16 TT at the Tour de France and in the stage 18 TT at the Vuelta, coming away with eighth and seventh places respectively.

That does suggest somewhat that his strength has been in recovering for those late-race efforts, something which obviously won't apply here in a one-off event.

Kasper Asgreen (Denmark)

The second Dane on our list is Kasper Asgreen, who can point to a strong record at this race, having finished in second, seventh, and eighth in three appearances dating back to 2019. His most recent outing came in Hasselt two years ago, where he finished eighth, 1:06 down on the champion Edoardo Affini.

Asgreen's form is looking up as he heads to Slovenia, too, with eighth place at the Montreal (where only Söderqvist and Küng from the Euros startlist finished ahead of him) his outstanding result of the past two seasons. He could be in with a shot at a medal here.

Callum Thornley (Great Britain)

23-year-old Callum Thornley is another young hopeful on the list aiming for a high placing in Šenčur.

The Scottish rider enjoyed a great run of time trial results recently, including third at the Tour de Pologne and fourth and second places at the two Vuelta a España tests, with the second seeing him miss out on the win by just two seconds to Küng.

His most recent outing on the time trial bike saw him take 10th place in Montreal, just over two minutes behind world champion Remco Evenepoel and 18 seconds off Küng. Like Söderqvist, Thornley looks destined to be a top time trial contender for years to come – will either of the young hopefuls hit those heights well ahead of schedule here?

Others to watch

The Netherlands' best hope lies with Sjoerd Bax, whose standout time trial result this season was third place in that 42km Giro time trial. The one-time Dutch TT champion will be competing at the Euros for the second time after finishing 10th in 2023.

With no Filippo Ganna, it's up to Mattia Cattaneo to lead Italian hopes. The 35-year-old was recently part of his nation's triumphant ride to mixed relay TTT success at the Worlds, while he finished the individual time trial in 16th place. His ride to sixth place in the hilly late time trial at the Tour de France also stands out in our memory.

Iván Romeo is Spain's sole entrant in the time trial. The former national champion and under-23 world champion picked up silver here in the under-23 race three years ago, and he's in good form at the moment, having raced to fifth place in the road race.

Slovenia's second rider comes in the form of Jan Tratnik, one of eight riders at this race to have finished in the top 20 at Worlds. He was 17th in Montreal, ahead of Hayter and just behind Romeo and Cattaneo. Tratnik has been up there at the Euros before, finishing sixth at the 2020 time trial.

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