Evenepoel sticks with a 1x setup and a gravel front derailleur for the World Championships

There are only two days left until the men's Elite race of the World Championship in Montreal, and each training session begins to offer clues about what the top favorites are preparing. In the case of Remco Evenepoel, one of those clues is in his bike. The Belgian has returned to ride on the World Championship circuit with the same SRAM RED XPLR AXS 1x13 single chainring setup that he used during the previous weeks in Canada.

This does not necessarily mean that he will start with it on Sunday, but it does confirm that it remains among Evenepoel's options to try to conquer the rainbow jersey.

Evenepoel continues testing the SRAM RED XPLR 1x13 on the World Championship circuit

At the beginning of September, we already talked about the setup that Evenepoel mounted on his Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 with a SRAM RED XPLR AXS 1x13 single chainring transmission. He first appeared with it during training and shortly after cleared any doubts by using it to compete and win the GP of Quebec.

Now, Evenepoel has been training on the Mont-Royal circuit where this Sunday the 2026 Road World Championship will be decided, and his Tarmac SL9 again does without a front derailleur and uses the same combination.

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At the front, he maintains a large road chainring, likely 54t, while at the back he uses the SRAM RED XPLR AXS, the derailleur originally developed for gravel that works with a 10-46 13-speed cassette.

The XPLR derailleur also uses Full Mount direct mounting on a UDH hanger. The result is a 1x transmission with a 460% range, sufficient to combine a large front chainring with considerably shorter gears for climbs.

A transmission that may make sense in Mont-Royal

The choice is particularly interesting when applied to the World Championship course. The race will have 273.7 kilometers and 3,803 meters of elevation, but it does not include major climbs. After the initial stretch, the peloton will enter a 13.4-kilometer Mont-Royal circuit that they will complete 12 times.

Its main difficulty will be Camillien-Houde, with 1.6 kilometers at 7.4%, followed by other shorter climbs, descents, curves, and continuous accelerations. In other words, a course where the wide range of the 10-46 cassette could allow Evenepoel to maintain a large chainring throughout the race without being excessively long in the more demanding areas.

Compared to a conventional double chainring, the single chainring eliminates the front derailleur and simplifies the transmission. It also avoids having to manage chainring changes and can provide a slight aerodynamic advantage. In exchange, the enormous range of the XPLR cassette forces acceptance of larger jumps between some sprockets, making it more difficult to maintain a cadence as precise as with a tighter road cassette.

That Evenepoel continues training with this setup precisely on the World Championship course indicates, at the very least, that he continues to consider it for Sunday.

The transmission can also say a lot about Evenepoel's strategy

The final choice could be particularly interesting because it will be closely related to how Evenepoel wants to race the World Championship.

As we already analyzed when discussing the tactical dilemma that Belgium faces with Evenepoel and Wout van Aert, the Belgian team has two leaders whose best options do not necessarily involve the same type of race.

Evenepoel has the ability to anticipate, attack from afar, or wait until the last laps to take advantage of the climbs when the accumulation of kilometers has made the selection. Van Aert, on the other hand, may need to get into earlier moves to avoid facing lighter riders like Evenepoel, Paul Seixas, or Isaac Del Toro in a final lap contested at maximum effort.

And there, the bike can also adapt to the chosen plan.

A large chainring combined with the 10-46 provides Evenepoel with an enormous range in a single transmission, a solution that can be particularly useful in a race of attacks, constant pace changes, and possible moves many kilometers from the finish. 

For now, we can only confirm what his training sessions show, and we will have to wait until Sunday to see if this setup ultimately makes it into the race.