Ganna at a loss after losing time trial monopoly to "rocket" Evenepoel: "I don’t know"

“I don't feel anything,” Ganna immediately stated in the mixed zone at Eurosport, after being beaten by Evenepoel by 43 minutes in a 24-kilometer time trial. “Remco is the world champion, he just won the jersey in Rwanda and now also the European jersey here. I can't say anything else about it.”

Looking for explanations for the big difference, Ganna started talking about the wind. "It certainly didn't help me. If you look at the top riders, I'm the only one at the front. The others didn't ride their best race. Remco is 65, 70 kilos... The CDA value was more important than the wattages. I've recovered well from the Vuelta, but apparently so has he from a 6.5-hour World Championship and 6000 meters of climbing."

It clearly bothered Ganna that even an Evenepoel with the World Championships in his legs was no match for him. “I tried to pace myself harder in the first part, but at the first intermediate point, we were already behind him. That was also the case in the second part, which was not surprising given the final climb and my weight. I tried my best, but the world champion won.”

When asked by IDLProCycling.com whether the increased gap between Evenepoel and Ganna was due to Evenepoel's tremendous growth, the Italian replied clearly: “Compared to last year, I'm pedaling better, even though I'm three or four kilos lighter. That means Remco is just a rocket; there's not much more to say about that.”

In an attempt to say something about it anyway, Ganna said: “Remco wins a lot of time trials, he's really a cannonball with his aerodynamic position, and the equipment he uses clearly helps him a lot. I try to follow him in that and beat him, but that's not possible every time trial.”

“Right now, he weighs no more than 70 kilos, a difference of about 12 kilos compared to me. I can guarantee you that it's not easy to climb against that. I'm thinner and lighter than ever, so I can't do more than this,” he said, discouraged. “I don't know, I'm trying to improve even more and do more, but it's not enough. All I can say is: hats off to him.”

Bram van der Ploeg ( Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])