Pogacar absence opens Worlds door for Leknessund: ‘The early final attacks can get further than ever’

Speaking on the Domestique Hotseat podcast, Andreas Leknessund said the absence of Tadej Pogačar will make Sunday’s World Championships road race a tactical contest again, giving riders outside the main group of favourites their best chance in years of slipping away.

The Norwegian won stage 7 of the Vuelta a España at Aramón Valdelinares from the breakaway earlier this month and finished eighth in the points classification. Attacking remains his clearest route to a result.

“Breakaways are really probably my one and only big strength. I think that’s definitely something I should aim for here,” Leknessund said.

“Now we can probably count up to ten guys who are big favourites, with more or less similar chances of winning. So for sure the risk of someone else slipping away while the guys look at each other is higher. The early final attacks can get further than ever in this race.”

He is under no illusion about how many others have reached the same conclusion.

“There are probably more than a hundred guys who are going to look for this chance, so that will also make it really hard,” he said.

Pogačar won the last two editions in Zürich and Kigali, attacking from more than 100 kilometres out on both occasions. He is out for the rest of the season after crashing out of the Vuelta, and Leknessund thinks that changes the entire shape of the race.

“When Pogačar is there, it’s easy to say you should still attack, because then you can be ahead when he comes. But that’s not the case. He goes super early and you know he’s going to go so fast, so even if you’re in the early breakaway, you just spend a lot of energy to get dropped anyway,” he said.

“With him there, the tactics are not that important anymore. It’s more about legs. Hopefully we see a more tactical race on Sunday.”

Remco Evenepoel is Leknessund’s favourite, having won Sunday’s time trial by 57 seconds from Filippo Ganna for a fourth consecutive title.

Leknessund was more surprised by the rider in third, Paul Seixas, and named Isaac del Toro alongside them as the three riders in clearly the best shape.

The question he finds most interesting is Belgium, who bring Evenepoel and Wout van Aert as joint leaders.

“You have this mix of Remco and Van Aert, who probably want different races,” he said. “It should be Belgium who control, but then they have Van Aert. So it will be interesting to see if any team just goes full gas. Maybe France for Seixas.”

Leknessund also believes Pogačar’s absence could make life easier for heavier riders such as Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel if no nation is able or willing to make the race relentlessly hard.

“Without Pogačar it can maybe be in favour of the bigger guys if it’s not going to be one team going full UAE mode,” he said.

Leknessund raced alongside Van Aert for much of the final week in Spain and says the Belgian improved throughout the race. Van Aert finished second in the mountains classification, ahead of Leknessund in third.

He also wants to see how Van der Poel handles the Mount Royal circuit after following his 174-kilometre solo on the final stage of the Tour de Luxembourg from Montréal.

“It would be really interesting to see him and a guy like Van Aert and how they can compete against the smaller climber types,” he said.

“I hope he’s in good shape, because different rider types in there make the race more interesting.”

Leknessund’s own time trial on Sunday was a disappointment, though he does not read too much into it. He targeted and achieved an average of 400 watts, which he had expected to be good enough for at least a top 20 finish. He finished 32nd.

“My shape felt surprisingly good. It was just the result not being as I hoped,” he said.

“I’m optimistic about my shape and my feeling going into the road race. Obviously I’m not a favourite, but if I can be in an early move or early final attack, it could be really good for me.”

The road race falls two weeks after the Vuelta finished in Granada, which Leknessund thinks gives him enough time to recover. He spent his two days at home after the race largely sleeping, while the time trial came too soon for the specific work he would usually do before the discipline.

Between the mixed relay and Sunday, he plans a rest day, two days of three to four hours with some intervals and an easy day before the race.

“Coming out of a Grand Tour it’s always 50-50 whether you come out good or bad,” he said. “There’s not much you can do except rest and hope not to get sick.”

For Leknessund, the route to a result on Sunday is clear. He does not expect to match the main favourites head on, but in a race he believes will leave more room for tactics, an early move or an attack before the final selection is where he hopes to find his chance.

Listen to the full Hotseat episode with Andreas 👇