There was an impromptu celebration for Remco Evenepoel at the Belgian hotel in Wetzikon on Sunday evening after he had won his second successive time trial world title, but the man of the hour was already casting his mind ahead to another pressing appointment next weekend.
"Our World Championships week has started well," Evenepoel said at the end of his short speech. "On to more."
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Evenepoel followed his victory in the time trial with an astonishing solo victory in the road race, and the 24-year-old is now seeking a remarkable ‘double double’ by sweeping the elite men’s medals at the World Championships.
Indeed, since the discipline was first introduced to the schedule in Agrigento in 1994, no elite male time trial world champion has gone on to win the road race later in the week. Miguel Induráin came closest in Boyacá in 1995, winning the time trial in Tunja before having to settle for silver behind compatriot Abraham Olano the following Sunday.
Evenepoel achieved the double as a junior in Innsbruck in 2018, and he is unlikely to be daunted by the precedent of the past three decades of Worlds time trialling. The week-long gap between the two events these days – as opposed to the old three-day turnaround – should theoretically facilitate his task.
"I will have to recover well in the next two days, and then I’ll have two good trainings on Wednesday and Thursday," Evenepoel said in the mixed zone after his time trial win. "Then it’s going to be recovery for Sunday."
Evenepoel thanked the Belgian delegation by ordering a stack of takeaway pizzas to their hotel on Sunday evening, and he also used his speech to playfully urge federation president Tom Van Damme to try to talk national coach Sven Vanthourenhout out of stepping down from his post after these Worlds. "If I were the federation, I’d negotiate again," Evenepoel quipped.
Previously cyclocross coach, Vanthourenhout took over the reins of the elite men’s road team in 2021. Under his guidance, Evenepoel has won the Worlds road race in Wollongong in 2022, two time trial world titles and, of course, those two Olympic gold medals.
At Vanthourenhout’s first Worlds in Leuven in 2021, he had to try to strike a balance between the competing ambitions of Evenepoel and Wout van Aert. With Van Aert an absentee this year due to injury, the Belgian squad’s challenge at the road race is built squarely around Evenepoel. Speaking in Zurich on Sunday evening, Evenepoel acknowledged that the time trial victory meant his Worlds was already a success.
"It takes away a bit of pressure, let’s say," Evenepoel said. "Winning this jersey again is going to allow me to live a little bit more relaxed towards next Sunday. I’m pretty confident. My legs are there, that’s clear."
"I can still improve a bit towards next Sunday, like I did in the Olympics as well. I’ll just try to live next week as relaxed as possible and in a good way, trying to take care of my body, and then everything should be fine. I should hopefully be ready for a good performance again next Sunday."
Zürich
The elite men’s time trial set out from the Oerlikon velodrome, site of the finish line of the Züri-Metzgete, while the demanding course of the elite men’s road race features terrain that once featured on the route of the demanding but sadly discontinued Classic.
"I think it’s a bit between a bit of a light version of Lombardia and Liège, it’s a mix of that," Evenepoel said. "Of course, the riders who are a bit lighter have a small advantage, but also the Classics guys can survive if they have good days. We might expect a very special race that can go in multiple directions."
All told, the race features some 4,470m of altitude gain, while the grand finale is provided by seven laps of a 27km circuit that brings riders over the stiff climb of Witikon. Tadej Pogačar underscored his favourite status by winning the Grand Prix de Montréal last week, while Evenepoel is arguably the only rider who would back himself in a head-to-head contest with the Slovenian.
"I think for me it’s clear. I need to stay focused and not lose too much energy in the start and then try to find a good moment to go – or else have the legs to go with the big names when they go," Evenepoel said.
"I’ll try to read the race as well as possible, because it’s a city circuit and that’s always special. It’s not exactly like last year [in Glasgow] but it’s still a city circuit with some steep kickers, so we’re going to see how it goes.
"Normally it should stay dry, so that’s already a positive thing. But it might go in multiple directions – there might be a guy alone, we might go with two or three to the finish, we might go with a group of ten to the finish. It can really go in every direction. I didn’t see the local lap yet, but we will do some recons during next week. I hope for a long and tough race, of course, like Paris."
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