While most of the protagonists from the 2026 Tour de France are finally allowing themselves some well-deserved rest, Remco Evenepoel has already put his helmet back on and set his next target. After the brilliant second place he secured in Paris behind the unstoppable Tadej Pogacar, the Belgian champion will return to racing as early as Saturday at the Clásica San Sebastián, a race he has already won three times and which represents the first step toward the most important objective of the second half of the season: the World Championships in Canada.

Pogacar is enjoying his fifth Tour victory, Isaac Del Toro is celebrating his podium finish and white jersey, Paul Seixas is putting behind him an extraordinary debut in the Grande Boucle. Evenepoel, however, has chosen a different path. No long vacation, no extended break. The Belgian wants to capitalize on the form he built during three weeks of Tour racing and transform it into a springboard for the world championship appointment.

A choice that, according to Belgium's technical commissioner Serge Pauwels, has a precise explanation. «Racing as early as Saturday means avoiding that decompression phase that inevitably arrives after the Tour. Remco will certainly have some moments of relaxation during the week, perhaps he'll go out to dinner, but San Sebastián will always remain on his mind. In this way he gains another precious week heading into the Montreal Worlds. Only after that will he be able to truly rest and prepare for the autumn».

To many it might seem like a gamble to tackle such a grueling classic just five days after finishing the Tour de France. For Pauwels, however, it's exactly the opposite.

The former professional knows this situation well, having experienced it firsthand in 2016. «It's very realistic to think that Remco could be extremely strong as early as Saturday. Everything depends on supercompensation, a truly particular phenomenon. I remember that after the Tour I was completely destroyed: I couldn't train, I was sweating continuously at night and thought I had no energy. Then the Friday before the race my legs suddenly started to turn over and on Saturday I had incredible power. I believe the same thing will happen to Remco. For me, he's the big favorite».

According to Pauwels, the Tour produces enormous physical and hormonal stress, but when recovery is managed correctly it can transform into a competitive advantage that's difficult to replicate.

Greg Van Avermaet, now coach of the Belgian national team and a multiple protagonist on the roads of San Sebastián, also confirms this theory.

«It often happened that the day before the race I felt terrible. Even during the first hundred kilometers I didn't have good sensations. Then, when the harder climbs started, suddenly my legs changed completely. It's difficult to explain, but it happens. Of course you need to have come through the Tour well, and Remco certainly has».

For Van Avermaet the Tour leaves an athletic legacy that can make the difference. «When you arrive from the Tour you have all those big climbs in your legs and you're also a bit lighter. In a demanding race like San Sebastián this represents an enormous advantage».

The sensations gathered during the final week of the Grande Boucle further strengthen the optimism of the national team's staff.

Pauwels is convinced that the Belgian actually finished the Tour even better than how he started it. «When we saw him stay behind Richard Carapaz, alongside Tadej Pogacar and Isaac Del Toro, it was evident that in the third week he was even stronger than in the second. Even the criteriums he's racing these days are perfect: you reduce the volume of work but maintain high intensity. That's exactly what's needed to achieve supercompensation».

An aspect that confirms how much the Tour represented a turning point in the growth of the Belgian climber. If until a few months ago he was considered primarily the world's best time trialist, today Evenepoel has proven he can stay with the best even on the big mountains.

The Clásica San Sebastián, therefore, is not simply a return to racing. It's the first piece of a program studied in meticulous detail to arrive at peak condition for the World Championships. Pauwels sums it all up with a very effective image.

«When you have the Tour in your legs it's like having a sixth gear. It's curious, because you don't feel like a superhero. Greg LeMond's phrase still applies: It never gets easier, you just go faster».

Remco Evenepoel therefore sets off without stopping. His second place at the Tour de France has given him the certainty that he can compete with the world's best climbers. Now he wants to transform that awareness into new victories. San Sebastián represents the first test, but the Belgian champion's gaze is already fixed much further ahead: toward Canada, where he will try to win another rainbow jersey and confirm that he is one of the great protagonists of world cycling.