Evenepoel warns rivals ahead of road race after new showcase: "Looks like a really beautiful course"

Men like Filippo Ganna and Josh Tarling skipped the time trial in Rwanda to focus entirely on the challenge in France. Yet they stood no chance, as Evenepoel relegated the former Italian to silver with a whopping 43-second difference. “I feel excellent about this result, of course,” said the winner in the flash interview. “I'm very happy to have won another title.”

It wasn't easy, as the wind played a significant role, especially in the second half of the time trial. However, that was perfect for the Aerobullet. “The wind was quite strong, always head-on or a little from the side. That made it difficult to control the bike and take the corners well, but we handled it well. Everything went perfectly.”

Evenepoel was in Rwanda last week to win the world title twice. He didn't succeed because he was outclassed by Tadej Pogacar, partly due to two bike changes. Shortly after that disappointment, the Belgian already had something to cheer him up. “Fortunately, there is now a little more time between events. Tomorrow I'm going to rest, and then do some training. I hope to be ready for Sunday.”

The circuit in the Ardèche is significantly less challenging than the one in Africa. It seems to suit Evenepoel much better, but he still has to see for himself how it is. “Have I explored the course? Not yet, but we are staying very close to it. Tomorrow or the day after, I will do a relaxed lap and take a good look at it. So far, it appears to be a very nice course. I'm looking forward to it.”

Afterwards, the European champion shared more details about his efforts with Cycling Pro. “When I restarted this year after my injury, one of my big goals was to win all the time trial championships. Of course, in the beginning, there were quite a few doubts about whether my shoulder would be in the right position, but I think that's a thing of the past now. I said it before: I never get used to winning. It's the same for this time trial and the championship.”

Nevertheless, it didn't all go smoothly. For example, the Belgian had no radio communication with Evenepoel. “Normally, my team leader, Klaas (Lodewyck, ed.), says a few words when I'm on the starting podium, but now nothing was coming from the radio. Either he had forgotten, or the radio wasn't working. After a minute, he was still silent, although he had probably said something.”

It was anyone's guess how Evenepoel was performing. "The radio only started working again a kilometer and a half before the finish. So the only communication I got was that I had 30 seconds at the foot of the climb. Then I was a bit more certain of the victory, but of course, I went full throttle to the finish. That was the only negative thing about today."

The road race in Rwanda had surprisingly little impact on performance. “I already felt pretty fresh on Monday. I went to bed early after arriving, then took a short recovery ride, and afterward, I wanted to relax as much as possible. I had to stay focused because there's only one tough week of racing left. After that, there will be time to celebrate and do other things.”