Evenepoel bows deeply to Pogacar at World Championship: "When he went, I spoke directly to Van der Poel"

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.