Evenepoel and his camp don’t seem fully aligned after World Championship: What exactly happened?

What exactly happened before, during, and after Mount Kigali? “I rode into a pothole and my saddle dropped a little,” explained the Belgian. “That meant I couldn't sit properly anymore, which caused an unpleasant feeling in my hamstrings a little later.”

“The moment Tadej Pogacar attacked, and I knew that was going to happen, I got completely cramped up and could barely turn the pedals. I know it sounds strange, but that's how it really felt,” explained the Belgian.

A little later, there was a second bike change. “Before the Wall of Kigali, I caught up with some compatriots who wanted to bring me back to the front. I switched to my third bike, but again I had the feeling that my saddle wasn't quite straight. That caused me pain in my lower back.”

However, his mechanic concluded that there was nothing wrong with the bike when he passed the press tent. “We checked it three times, but there was nothing wrong,” he said. Evenepoel disputes that. “I felt that the saddle wasn't right. It was causing me some discomfort in my lower back, so I rode a lap on it.”

Then I changed again, which I think was the right choice. It immediately felt better,“ said the Belgian, who had fallen quite a bit behind in the meantime. ”I saw the gap at the front as I passed the finish line and thought: why should I continue? I really had to swallow hard."

“There was also a barrage, which meant it took longer for the car to arrive,” he explains. “But still, I had good legs and decided to persevere. However, I knew that the gap to the front couldn't be closed, because Tadej is simply a super rider who you can't just catch up with.”

And so it was 1-1, after Evenepoel's time trial victory last week. “Tadej was very strong, phenomenal. I was frustrated because I think it could have been different. I felt great from the start, and if I hadn't had cramps, I would have been with Isaac del Toro and co.”

In the end, Evenepoel persevered and rode back to the front, where he ended up with Ben Healy and Mattias Skjelmose. “But I felt that they had no strength left and decided to ride away from them,” said the runner-up in one of the toughest World Championships ever. Right? No, Glasgow was much tougher for me. I did start to hate those cobblestones a bit at the end, though."

At the finish line, he just managed to wave, and now the focus is on Wednesday: he will be at the start of the European Time Trial Championships in France. “I'm in good shape and I feel good. From tomorrow, the focus will be on the European Championships and then the Tour of Lombardy: a race that everyone knows I would like to win.”

“Everyone knows that this period was a big goal for me, and the European jersey is the only one I don't have yet, so I'm very motivated to have a shot at it. But that's not revenge, just a big goal,” he concludes.