Evenepoel weighs up Seixas, Del Toro & Van der Poel's performances ahead of World Championship road race: 'Always a bit special'

On Sunday, we got a good idea of who to expect at the Men’s World Cycling Championships in Montreal, both in North America and Europe. Remco Evenepoel, Paul Seixas, and Isaac del Toro performed well at the World Time Trial Championships, while Mathieu van der Poel impressed in the final stage of the Tour of Luxembourg.

Evenepoel took part in the World Time Trial Championships on Sunday, but by that point he was already aware of Van der Poel’s solo breakaway in Luxembourg. Still, the Belgian didn’t want to immediately comment on who he considers the top favourite for the road race. “Actually, I should be asking you that,” he replied to the journalist in question in Canada.

Of course, this was followed by an explanation. “Because that’s a question you can’t really ask the riders themselves. We just focus on what we have to do, on training, and on getting ready for Sunday. Of course, I’ve now won twice in two weeks, and everything is going smoothly and well,” said the man who also won in Quebec.

"I hope to keep it that way, recover from the effort of the time trial, and then have two good training days on Wednesday and Thursday. Then we’ll see how it goes on Sunday," said Evenepoel. "It’s a big goal, and for now, my form and how I feel are gradually improving. I hope to have a little extra power in my legs for this coming Sunday."

When asked, Evenepoel did weigh in on his competitors. “That shows they’re in good shape,” he said of Seixas (third) and Del Toro (sixth). A one-day time trial is, of course, always a bit special; not everyone feels the same way in a time trial like that. But it was an impressive performance, especially from Paul. Isaac was a bit further back—1 minute and 40 seconds is quite a lot over 39 kilometers. But they both rode a very strong time trial given their builds.

Evenepoel knows he has to look beyond Canada. “It shows that everyone is in good form. When you see what Mathieu did in Luxembourg, it shows he’s ready. Wout van Aert also had a strong Vuelta. The Americans are strong as well, so I think it’s going to be a very high-level race on Sunday.”

Speaking to the NOS , the Belgian—who battled the Dutchman for the medals in Zurich two years ago—also briefly commented on Van der Poel’s solo breakaway. “They let him go, didn’t they?” he said with a wink. “But no, that was really impressive of Van der Poel.”