🚴🇨🇭 | En zo is er nog maar één achtervolgende groep! Is Pogacar dan toch te vroeg gegaan? 😱😱 #Zurich2024 📺 Stream koers op HBO Max
Evenepoel bows deeply to Pogacar at World Championship: "When he went, I spoke directly to Van der Poel"
CyclingMonday, 30 September 2024 at 09:55
Also, for Remco Evenepoel, the World Championships 2024 are over. The Belgian won last week's time trial brilliantly but could not follow that up in the road race
despite a great race.
In the end, he had to settle for fifth place in Zurich, just short of the medals. "Tadej Pogacar is the only one who deserves to ride in the rainbow jersey," Evenepoel said.
Evenepoel and Pogacar were the two top favorites—the men who would keep an eye on each other throughout the race. Things turned out differently, however, when the Slovenian made his attack with about 100 kilometers to go. "When he went, I passed Mathieu van der Poel," Evenepoel added of the other top favorite. "We immediately talked to each other and thought it was a suicide attempt. We thought it would backfire, but he raced as fast as us. Then you also deserve to be world champion."
Although Evenepoel expected an early attack, this was extreme. "At that moment, a hundred kilometers from the finish, I didn't think it would happen so early. He had another strong rider in front with Jan Tratnik. It's exceptional that he could stay in front because we weren't sitting still back there. There is little to add."
Only to do so a moment later. "It is exceptional; he is the best rider of the year," Evenepoel praised the Giro and Tour winner. "I think the only one who deserves to ride in the rainbow jersey. We raced full behind and got closer at the end, but not very much. That's unique," concluded the Belgian leader.
Read more below the video!
Evenepoel on Belgian tactics: "Felt we had things under control"
The Belgian team had disappeared from the front fairly quickly, and in the end, with Evenepoel and Maxim Van Gils, only two riders would finish. "It was an elimination race, and we just had to do something in the end. Pluske (Laurens De Plus, ed.) was along in the first move, which was great. Tim Wellens and Maxim then accelerated. And then I got things going myself. After that, it was stop and go."
"I felt we had things under control," Evenepoel takes us back to the moment of Pogacar's attack. "I told Tiesj Benoot: if we can keep it for a minute, that would be great. But I saw that they fell back, and only Tim and Maxim remained, so I let Maxim go full and opened the race uphill myself. But Tadej had a special day," he repeated. "I saw him pass, and I had the legs to jump, but at a hundred kilometers from the finish, you still think: it's five more laps, something not normal that you don't want to embark on. I hadn't done anything else. Next year, we will start racing at two hundred kilometers from the finish line," Evenepoel joked.
That the Belgian came out on top in the grueling race that may be called the 2024 World Championship was no surprise. The course of the race perhaps was. "I think it was a tough World Championship—a little more twists and turns than anticipated beforehand. From lap five on, the race was drastic. Dying lap after lap, as with any category. It was a weird course, which many guys could handle."
Ultimately, the Belgian could not man the podium alongside his great friends. "Van der Poel and Toms Skujins are faster than me. I can't beat them in a flat sprint. To do something myself was out of the question. That was also clear on the explosive climbs. A medal would have been nice, but ultimately, that doesn't change anything about my career."
Is there disappointment, then? "No, guys. I'm the Olympic champion, and it's already been a long season, but this fifth place at a World Championship is fine. It's just unfortunate that O'Connor can get away with that. But it wasn't up to me either because I'm not the best sprinter. That's all there was to it," Evenepoel concluded his detailed report with a big smile.
Il Lombardia 2024
Want to advertize on IDLProCycling.com? We’re already planning for the 2025 season
Cycling transfers WorldTour 2025 | EF Education-EasyPost strengthens its team with Jayco trainee Mackellar
Meanwhile in the peloton | Evenepoel sidelined after surgery, Jorgenson poses with Visma surfboard
Winning for himself and supporting Evenepoel: Top talent Lecerf learns valuable lessons in strong debut year
Vermeersch saw firsthand "phenomenal acceleration" Van der Poel: "That video went viral"
Latest Cycling News
Want to advertize on IDLProCycling.com? We’re already planning for the 2025 season
Cycling transfers WorldTour 2025 | EF Education-EasyPost strengthens its team with Jayco trainee Mackellar
Meanwhile in the peloton | Evenepoel sidelined after surgery, Jorgenson poses with Visma surfboard
Winning for himself and supporting Evenepoel: Top talent Lecerf learns valuable lessons in strong debut year
Vermeersch saw firsthand "phenomenal acceleration" Van der Poel: "That video went viral"
Popular Cycling News
Jorgenson will continue to be Vingegaard's super-domestique as long as the "supermen" are at the start: "not interested in leadership role"
Cycling transfers WorldTour 2025 | EF Education-EasyPost strengthens its team with Jayco trainee Mackellar
Chris Froome unexpectedly close to end of career after all: "I never felt as strong as I did at that moment"
Roglic considers Red Bull strong enough for clash with Pogacar, with or without Evenepoel: "But where there is smoke, there is fire"
Meanwhile in the peloton | Evenepoel sidelined after surgery, Jorgenson poses with Visma surfboard
Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024