Filippo Ganna and Eduardo Affini stood either side of Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) on the podium of the elite men's time trial podium at the UCI Road World Championships in Zürich. Both Italians managed to smile but had contrasting emotions.
For Affini, it was another superb performance, 10 days after he won the EUC European Championship time trial. For Ganna, it was a second consecutive silver medal, again behind his Belgian rival.
"We'll have a beer to celebrate this performance. Filippo is not happy about his performance, that's normal but I'm happy about my bronze medal. He'll drink to forget but I'll drink to celebrate," Affini said later in the press conference.
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Ganna struggled to see his glass half full.
He finished just 6.43 seconds slower than Evenepoel on a 46.1km Zürich course that suited less than in Glasgow in 2023, when he missed the rainbow jersey by 12.28 seconds.
Ganna lost a few seconds to Evenepoel on the opening flat roads, a little more on the climb and especially on the fast descent to the shores of Lake Zürich, but then pulled back 13 seconds on the flat road to the finish.
Evenepoel admitted that he would have lost if the time trial had been five kilometres long. Ganna wasn't interested in any such hypothesis.
"I'd like to have another rainbow jersey on my shoulders but there's not much to say, Remco is an amazing rider and I can only congratulate him," Ganna said sportingly.
"I've got another silver medal, it confirms that I'm close to the title. We're getting closer and closer and so maybe in a year or two I can come back and win the world title. But Remco was just better than me today."
Evenepoel jokingly described Ganna and Affini as two giant slices of focaccia with the Belgian the smaller slice of mozzarella in the middle.
He produces less power than Ganna but arguably has better aerodynamics. The climb and descent also suited him better than Ganna.
"I think weight made a difference," Ganna suggested. "I didn't lose too much on the climb but I prefer flatter races. The climb destroyed my legs.
"I was suffering on the descent, so I couldn't see clearly and so didn't take any risks. I tried not to lose time on the climb but I lost a lot on the downhill. When your heart rate is high, you can't see clearly and you have to slow down. On the descent, I just tried not to crash."
Ganna was not happy but tried to put his performance in perspective. He suffered a mental and physical slump after working for months to peak for the time trial and team pursuit at the Paris Olympic Games. With dedication and discipline, he managed to turn his end of season around.
"I suppose I'm happier than last year because a month ago I didn't feel well and quit the Renewi Tour," he explained.
"I needed a week off my bike so I could then recharge. I've just finished just six seconds down on Remco today, so I suppose I can be happy too."
Ganna was especially happy to share the podium with Affini. They have often shared national team hotel rooms since the 2013 World Championships in Florence.
"I'm happy to see two Italian flags flying over the podium. I don't think anyone would have believed that a few years ago," Ganna said.
"Edo did a great performance to win the European Championships. He's one of my best friends in the peloton."
Affini wore his bronze medal and a huge smile in the press conference, in stark contrast to Ganna's air of defeat.
"I'm sad for Filippo, that he lost by six seconds but I'm happy," Affini said. "I was dreaming of the top five when I was in the hot seat, so to finish on the podium and to get the bronze medal is special. It's also a great moment for Italian cycling."
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