Roglic proud of Pogacar, Bardet has good news about Alaphilippe and Hirschi did not get rid of Van der Poel

The World Cycling Championship 2024 in Zurich resulted in a spectacle performance by Tadej Pogačar. In the group behind, there was fierce competition for second place. Ben O'Connor took the silver medal after a late attack, while Mathieu van der Poel won the sprint for the third place. The gentlemen in the areas of honor behind also made course but were left empty-handed.

Romain Bardet: "There was a chance to perform better"

Romain Bardet finished tenth, making him the best-placed Frenchman. Still, he was left with mixed feelings. "I think the legs were good, but there could have been more. The podium was achievable," Bardet told DirectVelo. Julian Alaphilippe's dropping out was a tough one for the Frenchman. "That was a difficult moment; I saw him crash. We stopped, and it reminded us of the crash In Liège-Bastogne-Liège two years ago."

Fortunately, this time, it wasn't too bad. "He immediately said it wasn't severe, but that it was his shoulder and it was over. That was difficult for a while, but we recovered," Bardet said. In the finale, the team dsm-firmenich PostNL climber competed for the top three and, according to Bardet, certainly could have done so. "It's frustrating because I felt that tactically more was possible with the legs I had today."

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Enric Mas: "My legs got better after five hours"

Spanish rider Enric Mas also reflected on his race. Initially, he felt nothing but good, but gradually, he got progressively stronger. "To be honest, I felt bad until we were racing for five hours; from then on, it got better," Mas also told Cycling Pro Net. He still played a role in the battle for places of honor in the finale, but in the sprint, he finished eighth. "As I usually do in a sprint, it's a good sign that my legs are there. We were competing for the medals, so that's good."

Mas was impressed with Pogacar's performance: "For a moment, we thought he was busted because we got to 35 seconds. But then suddenly, he picked up another 15 seconds in two kilometers. Then we knew we had to race for second place."

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Hirschi goes down fighting in front of own crowd: "I did everything I could"

Marc Hirschi looked back on his performance at the World Championship in his country with satisfaction. In his own words, the Swiss did everything he could."It was incredibly tough. The final started from the start," he told Cycling Pro Net. Still, he enjoyed the race: "It was a very nice day, special to have a kind of 'home race' during the World Championship. I've been training for this long, so it's nice that I could compete until the end."

Hirschi was impressed by Pogacar's performance, although he quickly came to his senses when he saw the Slovenian attack. "I think Tadej was by far the best of the day. He got away on a big road, so everyone saw him attack. But we all know you will blow up if you try to follow him. Then I hoped Belgium would close the gap, but it didn't work out."

The final of the race was particularly tough, said the Swiss: "The last sixty kilometers, everyone was at their limit. I knew it would not be easy if I rode with Van der Poel to the finish. I tried to attack, but everyone was just as strong. In the end, Ben O'Conner chose the right moment to jump away. I tried to keep Van der Poel's wheel in the sprint, but it didn't work out." Despite missing out on a podium finish, Hirschi was satisfied, "I did everything I could, and I'm happy with my performance." Hirschi finished sixth in front of his crowd.

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Primoz Roglic: "Proud to be part of this historic moment"

Primoz Roglic, usually a rival of his compatriot Pogacar, had a domestique role Sunday. "It's great. I'm very proud to have a role in this historic moment," Roglic commented afterward to Cycling Pro Net. He stressed that Pogacar's attack was not pre-planned: "I think it was an instinctive move by Tadej, but so far that has already won him many victories."

I asked how it felt to work with him instead of racing against Pogacar, and Roglic responded positively: "It's a pleasure for me. Normally, we race against each other and are now in one team. It was nice to be part of this." Roglic himself eventually finished 34th in the day's results.