Evenepoel pinpoints where he improved to beat Ganna in Montreal: 'Very happy with the feeling'

Remco Evenepoel has given insight into how he beat Filippo Ganna by a record 57-seconds at Sunday's World Championship time trial in Montreal. Evenepoel was emphatic in his victory, his 4th elite men's time trial title in a row. In his post-race press conference, the world champion pointed to improved bike handling as the decisive factor behind his dominant performance.

The revelation was especially striking given Evenepoel's own history. He crashed off a bridge on the Sormano descent at Il Lombardia in 2020 and fractured his pelvis. He also faced criticism about his bike handling after several crashes in 2025, according to CyclingNews. Yet in his flash interview shortly after crossing the finish line on Sunday, Evenepoel was emphatic: "Very happy with the feeling, with the cornering."

The split times backed up Evenepoel's words. In the first 10.7 kilometres of the course, which contained 18 turns, Evenepoel put almost 23 seconds into Ganna. On the second section, which featured several 180-degree turns, Ganna lost another 18 seconds. That brought the total deficit to 41 seconds over the first 21.9 kilometres.

On the less technical return trip, the gap grew at a far slower rate: just 17 more seconds over the remaining 17.3 kilometres. The contrast was telling. Where the course twisted and turned, Evenepoel was devastating. Where it straightened out, the difference was far more modest.

Pushing hard through corners came with real risk on this course. Sweden's Jakob Soderqvist was on track for a possible podium, running third at the final checkpoint, until he crashed in one of Montreal's many bends and saw his medal chance vanish.

The historical trend makes Evenepoel's superiority all the more remarkable. In their previous World Championship head-to-heads, the margin was 12 seconds in Glasgow in 2023 and just six seconds in Zurich in 2024. In Montreal, it ballooned to 57 seconds. The trajectory tells a story of one rider pulling steadily, and then dramatically, away from the other. Evenepoel took Ganna's claims of a career-best power output with a grain of salt, suggesting the cornering-heavy course made power comparisons misleading.

Evenepoel's cornering leap carries implications beyond the time trial. Sunday's elite road race covers 273.7 kilometres with 3,803 metres of climbing over 12 laps of the Mount Royal circuit. That circuit features the Voie Camillien-Houde climb, the steep Côte de Polytechnique, and an uphill finish on Avenue du Parc.

In what is essentially a crit race, the ability to brake late, hold speed through turns, and accelerate out of corners is often the difference between staying in contention and losing touch, especially on a circuit that riders will tackle a dozen times.

Critically, Evenepoel specified that his improvement extends to "a normal bike" as well, not just the time trial machine. For a rider who has set his sights on winning both world titles in Montreal, closing what was once his final vulnerability sends a clear message to his road race rivals.