Remco Evenepoel is one of the favourites for the Worlds road race, but so are Tadej Pogacar and defending champion Mathieu van der Poel.
“First and foremost, he is a competitor of ours,” Evenepoel says about Van der Poel.
“We know each other’s form, but it’s not like we can just ride together. Mathieu is not a compatriot and not a teammate. I haven’t done the route myself yet, but if someone like Mathieu focuses on it, he’ll be ready. Wout van Aert could have done it too. But we’ll have to wait and see whether Mathieu can handle that accumulation of difficult laps. Although he’ll definitely be there.”
The Belgian leader is also looking forward to a battle with Giro and Tour winner Pogacar. They have ridden a one-day race against each other in Liege and Lombardia before, but each time there was something that caused them to avoid each other.
“The Tour is a different story,” says Evenepoel. “It is another step and a new chance to measure myself. Tadej looks very good. It will not be self-evident, but I can have confidence that I can handle him and that I can make it a great race. The World Championships is similar to those races (Liege and Lombardia). He is the man to beat, but that is why I am here.”
