It has not even been one week since Remco Evenepoel secured a landmark Vuelta a España victory but on Friday evening, as he sat in a room full of Belgian journalists just north of Wollongong, he didn’t look like a rider who had just added a long flight and the inevitable jet-lag that comes with it to a tortuous - albeit stunningly successful - three weeks.
Evenepoel may have shown just a hint of fatigue as he shared the stage with Tour de France stage 1 winner Yves Lampaert to discuss the individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships, but it gave way to animated laughing.
The jokes perhaps involved riders becoming prey to an Australian Magpie, a bird notorious for swooping riders in spring when they are protecting their young. The tone was more tempered when it came to discussing the challenges of Sunday's course and rivals, but ultimately it was a media conference that was anything but short and perfunctory.
The 22-year-old QuickStep-AlphaVinyl rider hadn’t returned home after his victory, instead coming straight to Australia, but he wasn’t leaving the attention of the media from his home nation behind. A healthy contingent of Belgian press had also taken the long flight to Australia and this was their reward; they were making the most of the opportunity to get time with the first Belgian Grand Tour winner since 1978 and Evenepoel seemed happy to oblige.
He wasn't brushing aside that the racing and journey had taken a toll, but said a calm four days had done him good.
"I knew in advance that it was going to be this way. I was mentally ready for that," Evenepoel said.
"Racing a World Championships for your own country, you don't just let that go. It is also always said that after a Grand Tour you find magical legs and push a bigger gear. I hope so.
"We already planned three months ago how we would fill in this week. This is the best possible recovery week. It was a good decision to come here as soon as possible after the Vuelta, both for my body and for the Championships, although I will also be happy when I can let go of everything after the Worlds."
The focus is on the time trial for now, and a course that is far from typical. Not only is the elite men’s course considerably shorter than usual at 34.2km, but it is a technical circuit with around 30 corners for each of its two laps, with the bends coming early before the course opens up into a smoother section along the coast.
Still, it is a course that Evenepoel is going into with a degree of confidence.
“I am very happy with the consistency that I show in my time trials this year,” he said. "My worst performance was second place. If I can repeat that on Sunday, that would be very good.
"Everything will depend on the form of the day. On that front, I'm pretty confident. What I felt today in training was pretty good. Anyway, there is no more pressure for me. My season is already a success."
Despite the breakout season as a Grand Tour champion, Evenepoel still has ample drive to add a rainbow jersey to his palmarès.
"Of course I would prefer to win - let there be no misunderstanding about that. I worked very hard on my time trial this year. Then you also start here with ambitions. But whether I finish second or 10th here, that won't change anything about my season."
