What role will we see Roglic play at the World Championships in Rwanda? “We lose so much without Tratnik,” says Novak

“We’ll see how it goes this year,” the Slovenian told Cyclingnews about Pogacar defending his title in Rwanda. “I think the course suits him quite well, so we’ll do our best to win it again. It’s hard to say whether the course will be tougher; it’s really the riders who make a race hard.”

But Novak also knows: “If Tadej wants to be ready, then he’ll be ready. I think he needs a couple of race days and that tempo to open up the engine, and then we’ll see.” He already did that with two races in Canada last weekend, where he handed the victory in Montréal to Brandon McNulty.

“You know, Tadej can win almost any day, and I think he’ll be in top form,” the UAE rider expects excellent legs from his Slovenian teammate. “We have a pretty strong team, and we’ll try to position him as well as possible so he can go for the victory.”

Where Novak himself ranks in the Slovenian hierarchy, he doesn’t yet know. Last year Jan Tratnik was the last rider to stay with Pogacar before launching an attack with about 100 kilometers to go. “We lose so much without Jan Tratnik, because he’s a strong rider and is currently dealing with some injuries. But we’ll see how the race develops.”

“I don’t know exactly what my job will be, but I think after 150 kilometers I’ll start pulling and try to make a selection, and then we’ll see,” Novak continued. “In any case, everyone will give their best and we’ll try to win.”

Alongside Novak, Pogacar can count on support in the road race from Roglic, Matej Mohoric, Luka Mezgec, Gal Glivar, Matevz Govekar, Jaka Primozic, and Matic Zumer. With Roglic, Slovenia may even have a shadow leader. What his role will be? “We haven’t talked about that yet,” said Novak, adding that “we’ll see once we’re there.”

As Pogacar’s UAE teammate, Novak probably knows the leader best. “I know Tadej very well, especially in races, what he likes to do, when, and how he performs best.” Still, riding a World Championship is always special for a domestique. “Because with the national team it’s always a bit different. At UAE we all know each other, but in the national team there are riders you don’t know so well.”

The location makes it extra unique. “It will be special to race in Africa, but it’s also special for Tadej to race in this kind of event. I’ll try to do as much as possible for him, and that’s what counts,” Novak concluded.