Racing defensively in the elite men's road race would be unforgivable in the eyes of Remco Evenepoel, who lines up as part of Belgium's two-pronged approach alongside Wout van Aert, both aiming for the rainbow jersey at the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal on Sunday.
"What mistake will I find hard to forgive myself for if I didn't become world champion on Sunday? That I raced defensively," Remco Evenepoel told Sporza in a press conference held at their national team's residence at the Hôtel Mortagne on Friday evening.
Evenepoel and Van Aert are just two of several favourites heading into the elite men's 273.7km that includes 3,800m of elevation gain across 12 laps of the Mount Royal circuit and the Camillien-Houde climb (2.3km at 6.2%).
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Only the strongest riders will survive this race of attrition, with noted rivals including Paul Seixas (France), Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) and Isaac del Toro (Mexico), who won on this circuit just two weeks ago at the Grand Prix de Montreal.
Evenepoel secured his fourth elite time trial world title last weekend and arrived in Montreal having taken victories at the Clasica San Sebastian and Grand Prix de Quebec; he was also second overall at the Tour de France this year behind five-time winner Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia).
Pogačar will not line up to defend his world title won in Kigali last year, after crashing heavily at the Vuelta a España, and Evenepoel doesn't believe that it is Belgium's responsibility to make the race difficult.
"It is not up to us to do that. Wout van Aert and I are two finishers. Someone like Paul Seixas has to come in alone. Everyone knows that. So the French will have to make it a long and tough race," he said in a Sporza interview. "I don't need to be afraid to go to the finish with a group."
Even so, Evenepoel said that racing defensively would be his biggest regret.
He last won the elite men's road race world title in 2022 in Wollongong, while Van Aert's long list of accomplishments has yet to yield a rainbow jersey on the road.
Van Aert comes into this weekend as a favourite after a successful Vuelta a España, where he won two stages, posted eight top-10s, and took the points classification jersey.
His biggest win this year, and one of the most memorable, came at Paris-Roubaix, where he hoisted the cobblestone trophy above his head for the first time in his career.
A rainbow jersey to match would be a fitting ending to a season of firsts for Van Aert.
He reminded the press that he finished second at the Grand Prix de Montreal in 2022 and will understand the circuit's demands. "I don't need to convince anyone, except myself, that this course suits me," he told Sporza.
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