As expected, the final word of the international cycling season went to Remco Evenepoel. The world time trial champion won the Chrono des Nations at Les Herbiers, in Vendée, triumphing over a 45.43 km course covered in 49:54, with an average speed of 54.63 km/h.

The starting line featured a high-caliber field, with names such as Stefan Küng, Jay Vine and fellow Belgian Alec Segaert. Evenepoel, starting last, shot off like a comet: already at the first checkpoint, after 10.5 km, he held over 26 seconds on Küng. Along the course he caught up with Jay Vine, who had started shortly before, and continued increasing his pace until he clearly distanced all his rivals. The Belgian's performance was clear and authoritative: Jay Vine finished in second place with a gap of 2'11", while Stefan Küng trailed by 2'27". The sustained speed and power management transformed this edition into the fastest ever, establishing Evenepoel as the absolute reference point in time trials.

«I'm very happy with this victory — Evenepoel said —. The course is truly beautiful and we were particularly motivated to give our best one last time. I'm pleased to have finally managed to win on this track. The bike responded perfectly: the handling, the speed... I felt truly at one with the machine. I believe we've made another important step forward, which is very promising for next year. I was definitely going strong; I could tell from the watts I was producing and the speed. I was simply trying to pedal as fast as possible».

This is Evenepoel's third participation in the Chrono des Nations — following his appearances in 2021 and 2023 — and his first victory on the historic Vendée road. A seal that closes an already successful season and raises expectations even further for 2027. The season for the Belgian concluded positively and this final race day put the finishing touch on 2026, his first year with Red Bull-Bora hansgrohe. «Was it a good test for my equipment? I would definitely say yes: the premises are excellent. I think we now have important data to work with and improve further».

Evenepoel closed out the year with excellent results and 14 victories, highlighted by his fourth world time trial title, the European road title, the Amstel Gold Race, two Tour de France stages and second place in the general classification behind Tadej Pogacar.