Evenepoel weighs up Worlds threats as Van der Poel’s solo catches his eye

Evenepoel comes into the road race with plenty of confidence of his own after another dominant performance in the World Championship time trial.

Asked afterwards who he considered the main favourite for Sunday, however, he was not keen to name one.

“You should probably be asking yourself that question,” he told In de Leiderstrui in Canada.

“That is not really something you can ask the riders. We are focused on what we have to do, on training and making sure we are ready for Sunday.”

Evenepoel has little reason to complain about his own condition. He has won twice in the space of two weeks and said his form is still moving in the right direction.

“Everything is going smoothly and well,” he said. “I hope I can keep it that way, recover from the time trial and then have two good training days on Wednesday and Thursday.”

“It is a big goal. At the moment my form and feeling are improving step by step. Hopefully I can have a little bit more power in the legs by Sunday.”

Evenepoel did eventually take a closer look at some of the riders he could be facing in Montreal.

Paul Seixas finished third in the World Championship time trial, while Isaac del Toro took sixth. Evenepoel was particularly impressed by Seixas, although he stressed that a one day time trial does not tell the full story before a road race.

“It shows they are in good shape,” he said. “A time trial is always a bit different because not everyone has the same feeling in that discipline, but it was a very good performance, especially from Paul.”

“Isaac was a bit further back. One minute and 40 seconds is quite a lot over 39 kilometres, but they both rode a very strong time trial for riders with their build.”

Van der Poel provided perhaps the most eye catching indication of all.

The Dutchman had produced one of the weekend’s standout performances on the final stage of the Tour de Luxembourg, launching a 175 kilometre solo attack and carrying it all the way to victory. It was the longest winning solo of the 21st century and, for Evenepoel, further proof that Van der Poel is arriving in Montreal ready to contend.

“If you see what Mathieu did in Luxembourg, that shows he is ready,” Evenepoel said.

Evenepoel was a little more playful when asked about the ride separately by NOS. He joked that Van der Poel had simply been allowed to go, before making clear how highly he rated the performance.

“They let him ride, didn’t they?” he said with a smile. “But no, very impressive from Van der Poel.”

Wout van Aert was another name on Evenepoel’s list, with the Belgian also pointing to his compatriot’s Vuelta a España as evidence of strong form heading into Sunday.

“Wout also rode a good Vuelta,” he said. “The Americans are strong as well, so I think it is going to be a very high level race on Sunday.”

Belgian national coach Serge Pauwels was just as encouraged by what he saw from Evenepoel in the time trial.

Evenepoel appeared to be in complete control as his advantage grew around the Montreal course, but Pauwels said the Belgian staff remained cautious because of the technical opening section.

“Remco seemed in control throughout the whole time trial,” Pauwels told Sporza. “He rode another perfect time trial, or at least came very close to perfection.”

Pauwels believes Evenepoel is now starting to feel the benefit of his altitude training at exactly the right moment.

“The road race is something different, but Remco is now feeling the supercompensation from his altitude camp,” he said. “That gives a lot of confidence.”

“Now he just has to stay in this flow for another week and then we have a good chance in the road race.”

Belgium will also welcome Van Aert into the squad this week. He is expected to arrive on Tuesday, giving him several days to recover from the journey before Sunday.

“That is a luxury,” Pauwels said. “Wout arrives on Tuesday and will have enough time to get over the jet lag. We will have a super strong team.”