Pogacar Admits Evenepoel‘s Performance “Difficult to Endure” After World Championships Time Trial Defeat
Kigali, Rwanda - February 24, 2023 – Tadej Pogačar acknowledged teh sheer strength of Remco Evenepoel after finishing second to the Belgian in the individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali. Evenepoel overtook Pogačar during the race,ultimately winning gold while Pogačar finished seven seconds behind,narrowly missing a podium spot by just one second to Ilan van Wilder who took bronze.
Pogačar, who started two and a half minutes after Evenepoel, conceded he gave his all but was impressed by his rival’s performance. “Of course I am disappointed that Remco overtook me. It is indeed incredible how good he is in this discipline,” he said in a post-race interview.
The Slovenian rider struggled to match Evenepoel’s pace throughout the course, trailing by 45 seconds after the first climb. He was subsequently overtaken by teammate Jay Vine and then van Wilder at the third intermediate time check.
Pogačar attributed his less-than-optimal performance to a recent illness that disrupted his training. “Actually, I wanted to leave Canada because I got sick before. It was not a problem in Canada itself, but it affected the training for time trial. To be 100 percent for the street race, I absolutely had to take Canada with me. Under the circumstances that I could not end my time trial training, I can now be satisfied,” he explained.
Despite the disappointment of finishing second,Pogačar remains focused on defending his title in the upcoming road race. He expressed hope that Evenepoel expended all his energy in the time trial. “When Remco drove past me, it was naturally difficult to endure. It was incredibly difficult to follow. But he is just Remco. I hope that he was 100 percent concentrated today and then only 99 on Sunday.”
