From world champion to world champion: this is what Van der Poel said to World Champion successor Pogacar during little chat

He saw him go a hundred kilometers from the finish. Van der Poel was cycling near Remco Evenepoel and together they agreed it was a suicide attempt. "We thought he blew his chances; we thought it was a panic attack," Van der Poel stated. But the Dutchman did not see him again until after the finish line, where they had a little chat. "What I told him there? That he's crazy," smiled the Glasgow world champion.

Let's go back to about 130 kilometers from the end. Jay Vine set the pace and got nine riders from big countries with him. Italy, Belgium, France, and Slovenia were all with him, except for the Netherlands, which was already causing panic on social media. "The others came to ask me if we should close the gap, but I wanted to play poker. It wasn't a good situation for the other countries, and I wanted to make them nervous too. When Pogacar went, I thought that plan succeeded. It was a good choice by us," Van der Poel looked back on that tense race situation.

"I thought Pogacar blew his chance for the rainbow jersey with that attack, to be honest," Van der Poel takes us to a hundred kilometers from the finish. "Especially when Belgium started chasing with the whole team. It wasn't the smartest move, but it worked for him. He showed how strong he is. I told him he's great, I've never seen anything like it. We know he is exceptional, and he showed that again."

"It's hard to describe how strong he is," the Dutchman repeated moments later at his press conference. "If you ask him yourself, I'm sure he will also say this was not his plan. I didn't think he would make it, especially because Belgium took control. But he proved otherwise. I wanted to save energy because that's the key to a good World Championship. I also really thought they were going to close the gap."

"I had to stay calm and use my strength when I had to. I think I did that well. When we got to half a minute at twenty kilometers from the line, I thought maybe he was at his wits' end, but then he kept riding away, so there wasn't much more to add to that," Van der Poel said.

Conclusion: beyond positive. "I think I participated in one of my best races ever; I can only be happy about that. That's why I was keen on that medal; I had suffered too much for that. I wanted that bronze because I had to control everything and was being watched. I didn't discover anything about myself I didn't already know."

"It's positive that I was among the best climbers, but this was also a period to lose some weight. I know I can do well uphill if I put myself up to it. But I don't want to lose that weight in the spring; I don't want to give up the Tour de Roubaix to win Liège, for example," the Dutchman restated his ambitions for the coming years.

"I prepared well for this day and am thrilled with this bronze medal. One rider was exceptionally strong, but I was competing for the world title without him. This was also really a goal for me, so I'm delighted with how it went, and I have a nice reward," Van der Poel summed up.

And so, after 14 months, the rainbow jersey disappears from the closet with his road cycling clothes. "I enjoyed my time in the rainbow jersey. They say there can be a curse on it, but I never felt that. I will never forget this year," Van der Poel concluded the press conference in Zurich with beautiful and suitable words.