The lasting image from Kigali: Evenepoel catches Pogacar at Worlds ITT

For Pogačar, it was a painful sight. The four-time Tour winner had little choice but to cling on as the Belgian bullet swept by, trying to salvage pride and pace in the closing stretch. He pushed hard enough to finish just two seconds away from the podium, but the damage was already done.

Evenepoel admitted he had Pogačar in his sights for some time. “I saw I was getting closer and I had to keep pushing, but the finale was tough,” he told Sporza. “On the cobbles I didn’t want to go over my limit, because the finish was still demanding. But on a day like this it doesn’t matter who is in front of you.”

Still, when the catch was made, he knew what it meant. “It wasn’t really a race within the race, I was focused on my own ride. But once I saw him, I wanted to catch him, since he was right there,” Evenepoel grinned. “Maybe I went a bit too deep, but the gap on everyone else was already made. And it was good he didn’t stay too long on my wheel, otherwise Ilan (Van Wilder) might not have finished third.”

For Evenepoel, it was a symbolic reversal of fortunes: two months ago in the Tour de France, he had been the one caught by Jonas Vingegaard in the Peyragudes time trial. This time, he was the predator, and not the prey.