Pogačar talks about the World Championships: how he’s feeling, rivals, Evenepoel’s overtake, the course, the comparison with 2024…

Tadej Pogačar is clearly the most anticipated rider of all for Sunday’s road race. He cannot not be considered the favorite, despite last Sunday’s “debacle” (which calling a “defeat” is an exaggeration), when he was overtaken by Evenepoel. Today, for the first time since that day, the Slovenian has spoken again precisely in view of the road race.

He did so during Slovenia’s press conference, where many topics were addressed – from how he’s feeling to Remco’s overtaking to Sunday’s course. Below are some of his answers, by topic, as reported by Cyclingnews.com:

HOW HE’S FEELING – “I think the difference between last Sunday and the one coming up is huge. Obviously, I’m here for the road race, so expectations are high; I expect a lot from my legs, and we must aim for the best possible result. I think we have one of the strongest teams, so we should be considered among the top favorites. When I arrived, I trained for two days on the TT bike, then I raced, but I didn’t find the rhythm, I didn’t find the legs. After Sunday I switched to the road bike and now I have no problems. I think I’ve gotten used to the environment, the altitude, the weather, everything: now my legs are turning well every day.”

EVENEPOEL’S OVERTAKE – “Probably Remco also wanted revenge for the Tour de France, when he was caught by Jonas in the mountain time trial, so I think it was positive for him. He erased a bad moment of the year. Now on Sunday it might be my turn to erase and put aside that unpleasant feeling of being caught.”

THE RIVALS – “There will be many riders eager to attack from far out, and others who will only look at me. We have to think about our own race; it’s very long and very hard: you need to save energy and race intelligently.”

THE COURSE – “You can attack anywhere if you have the legs. It’s a pity that Mount Kigali comes so early in the race: it would have been more fun and less painful if it were closer to the finish. For me, the best part on paper is that section: the long climb of Mount Kigali and the two cobbled walls. But the problem is that from there to the finish there’s still a long way.”

ATTACKING AT 100 KM? – “You can’t do it every time. Back then I had Jan [Tratnik] up ahead and a group of 20 riders giving me shelter, then Pavel [Sivakov] with me, so I was never alone for 100 km. Even with help, 100 km is a tough job, it’s a bit too much.”

DEFEATS – “When you race a lot and always for the win, you have all eyes on you. It’s normal to make mistakes, you need to try different things, you can’t always do the same.”

THE CONCLUSION – “I did my last training in the rainbow jersey on Tuesday, but next week… we’ll see. I feel ready. I’ve already done good sessions here, I’ve gotten used to the environment and started enjoying the bike. I think I’ve got an extra boost now for Sunday, and today my teammates also arrived, which gave me another injection of energy and motivation. It’s nice to see the group, the friends, and overall the atmosphere is excellent: we’re all looking forward to Sunday.”

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