The words of Evenepoel and Pogacar after today’s time trial: “Given how things went before Canada…”

Today’s time trial is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic ever. Not only did Evenepoel, at just 25 years old, reach three consecutive world time trial victories, but in doing so, the Belgian dominated the race by overtaking along the way the strongest rider of the modern era—if not of all time: Tadej Pogacar.

They were the two main favorites, but in the end the podium was made up of, clearly, Evenepoel, Jay Vine, and Van Wilder, with Pogacar only in fourth place by about 1 second. Below are the words of the Belgian (from WielerFlits) and the Slovenian after today’s race:

EVENEPOEL – “I felt really good. Right from the first flat section I knew my legs were there. I could keep up a good speed without going over my limits. Then came the first climb of the day, which was pretty tough together with the other two that followed, so on those sections I really tried to push. So I decided to ride a pace I could sustain until the foot of the Côte de Peage (the penultimate climb, ed.). From there I went full gas again, but I have to admit I really hated those cobbled sections at times.

It was difficult to keep pushing at the end, but I won, and that’s what matters. And Ilan (Van Wilder, ed.), my teammate and peer, finished third, so a phenomenal day for us. Overtaking Pogacar? I wanted to go as hard as possible from the first climb and then recover a bit on the descents. Of course, at the end on the cobbles I saw I was getting closer quickly and I wanted to keep pushing, but I knew the last four hundred meters were going to be really tough, so I didn’t want to go over the limit. But I didn’t care who it was, I just wanted to go as hard as possible.

The list I’m now part of (3 consecutive World Championship victories, ed.) is truly impressive, with Tony Martin (4-time world champion) and Michael Rogers (3-time). It’s an honor to stand alongside them, but I think next year I’ll have to go for it again. I want to be the first to win four in a row. Of course, I’ll enjoy the victory, but there are still important weeks ahead, and this definitely gives great motivation.”

POGACAR – “Clearly I’m disappointed that Remco caught me, but he was incredibly fast and it’s amazing how strong he is in this discipline. Chapeau to him, he had a great ride. I saw that I lost the podium by just 1 second—if I had known I was only 1 second behind, maybe in the last kilometer I would have found that extra motivation, but I didn’t know. I’ll probably regret it today, but tomorrow will be a new day and I can be happy with how much I suffered today.

It wasn’t my best performance, but given how things went before Canada, when I couldn’t finish my block of training on the time trial bike, I can be satisfied and I’m already looking forward to Sunday and the road race. Speaking of how things went for the time trial… I should have skipped Canada.

I got sick in the days before and I’ve been focused mainly on the road race. I didn’t give up on the time trial, but I had to skip some important training sessions. I know I can do well in the road race, and to be ready for that I had to go to Canada, so I think in that sense it was the right decision.

It’s tough to swallow, but it’s Remco—he’s so strong in this discipline. I just hope he was really at 100% today and that he’ll only be at 99% on Sunday.”

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