Remco Evenepoel rode to second place in the opening time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico to put himself in prime position among the GC contenders on day one. Afterwards, however, the Quickstep-AlphaVinyl leader said that he thinks there will be little he can do to fend of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) during the remainder of the race.
Evenepoel finished the day 11 seconds down on stage winner Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), but seven seconds up on Pogačar, while the rest of the pair's main GC rivals lie 30 seconds back or further.
Speaking after the stage, Evenepoel said that the only way he sees himself getting the better of Pogačar, who is fresh off a dominant solo victory at Strade Bianche at the weekend, is if the Slovenian has an off day.
"I think the only way that I have to hope to beat him is if he has a really bad day and he doesn't recover from last Saturday," he said after noting that his eight-second advantage won't be enough to hold. "But he's such a strong and spectacular rider that he probably won't have a bad day this week.
"I hope he has a good level again this week so I can just try to compete with him, and I think the best way to put yourself against somebody is when you can both perform in the best shape without bad luck. So, I hope we can have a week without bad luck, and we'll see on Sunday what the result will bring."
Evenepoel, who is in the white young jersey tonight, said that he had hoped to be wearing the blue leader's jersey instead, but added that he had given his all on the 13.9-kilometre course. He did, however, note that only ceding 11 seconds to Ganna marked another step in his development.
"I think if you start with a time trial you always have to believe you can win so I gave my maximum," said Evenepoel. "The pacing I did was as we planned. I was always hoping that it was enough but we all know that Filippo is a specialist in such a time trial, so it would've been really hard and surprising to beat him today.
"But I'm happy to come quite close, the closest of the rest. So, I think it's good in my development and a new step that I can come already a bit closer to him in short time trials so I cannot be more happy than today with the result.
"Of course, it's always a big goal when you start with a time trial to take the leaders jersey, but the white jersey is not bad."
Evenepoel added that, despite his disappointment at not taking the victory in Lido di Camaiore, he was reassured about the coming days, which see the peloton take on a series of sprint and hilly stages through the centre of Italy.
With a strong opening stage performance under his belt, he'll be more relaxed going forward, he said.
"I think a race like this is a bit like Paris-Nice, in that it's very nervous every day, so you have to pay attention all the time. If I'd done a bad time trial, I'd be more stressed for the coming days, but I'm relaxed because of how I rode.
"I'll try to keep this position and stay up there with the best. We'll see what that brings, but I think all the team has confidence with me. I hope I can recover in next two days and then we'll see on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, because those are the three days where the GC will be decided. I hope I won't have any bad days there, and then we'll see what that brings."
