'I guess next year I have to go for another one' - Evenepoel aims for four in a row
Belgian star Remco Evenepoel dominated the UCI World Championship time trial in Rwanda, claiming his third consecutive rainbow jersey in front of thousands of fans.
"It felt pretty good straight away on the first flat part," said Evenepoel, who delivered a masterclass performance that saw him catch and pass Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar during his ride.
The victory places Evenepoel in elite company, with only Tony Martin and Michael Rogers having previously won three world titles in a row in the discipline. Next year in Canada, the Belgian has the chance to set a new benchmark.
"I guess next year I have to go for another one because I want to be the first to get four in a row," he said after his commanding ride.
Evenepoel executed a perfectly paced strategy, pushing hard on the first climb to establish a gap before managing his effort carefully throughout the rest of the course.
"I saw I had quite a big gap, so I just wanted to keep a pace that I could hold until the bottom of Piaget. Then I went flat out on every climb," Evenepoel explained.
The Belgian champion admitted the cobbled sections proved particularly challenging. "I hated them at some point. It was so hard to push through them toward the end."
When asked about catching Pogačar, Evenepoel remained focused on his own race rather than his rival.
"On a day like today, it doesn't matter who it is. I just wanted to push as hard as possible from the first climb. When I saw I was coming closer quite quickly, I knew I had to push through."
The triumph provides a major confidence boost for Evenepoel ahead of the final part of his season. "I'm going to enjoy this one first, but there are still a few difficult weeks coming up," he said.
His words were echoed in the stands, where Belgian fans had travelled in large numbers to Rwanda and joined the local crowd in celebrating their champion.
