Reason for Pogacar’s off day? If it’s not jet lag, Belgian team doctor says he’ll have a problem in the road race

“I don't want to talk specifically about Ilan, but some riders cope better with altitude than others,” Van der Mieren begins his story at Sporza. Kigali is located at an altitude of about 1,500 meters, which takes some getting used to for riders. "Some riders seem to cope better with this and lose less strength. Ilan is one of the lucky ones who can do that."

The Belgian team doctor explains how this can differ among riders. “You have three engines in your body: the fat-burning engine, the basic engine that supports everything, and needs oxygen. The second engine uses sugars and also works based on oxygen. That is aerobic sugar burning. Finally, the third engine is anaerobic sugar burning, which does not require oxygen.”

At altitude, as many people know, there is less oxygen in the air, which makes athletic performance more difficult. "This is true for everyone, but some athletes respond better to it, and that has to do with your physical characteristics, which allow you to make better use of the oxygen that is still present."

So it's mainly about the third engine that Van der Mieren was talking about. "That kicks in when the first two engines, which run on oxygen, fail. During a strenuous effort like yesterday (Sunday, ed.) in the time trial, a large part of your performance is delivered by that third engine."

“That's only possible if you have a natural talent for it, if you've trained for it, and certainly if you have a well-rested body,” the Belgian continues. Those who don't have a well-rested body will find it a lot harder. “A tired body is very poor at delivering high levels of anaerobic performance.”

That fatigue could well be the reason why Pogacar performed so disappointingly in the time trial. "I don't know his situation, but maybe the jet lag is still affecting his body," Van der Mieren suggests. "That could wear off in a week and work in his favor."

Van der Mieren has no certainty, but the Belgian team doctor knows that there could be surprises in store for Remco Evenepoel in Sunday's road race. "If jet lag wasn't the cause of his poor performance, then I think he'll have a tough time on Sunday against a super Evenepoel."

“Again, maybe there's something else going on with Pogacar, but maybe he just wasn't fresh,” Van der Mieren emphasizes. “In my opinion, that's a very important factor, and it won't be any different on Sunday. Anyone who isn't fresh or in good shape won't get a chance here.”

Rwanda is unforgiving in that respect. "Not being fresh is punished tenfold here. Anyone who isn't fresh has zero percent chance here," says Van der Mieren, explaining the difference with, for example, the altitude in the Tour. “In the Tour, you also ride mountain stages with more than 5,000 meters of elevation gain, but then you're only at that altitude for an hour or two. In Rwanda, they ride the entire race at 1,500 meters.”

"I've been to many World Championships with the national team, but to my knowledge, this has never happened before. That's what makes this World Championship and that time trial so unique. You saw how a rider with a big engine like Pogacar struggled. If you're not acclimatized, you can easily lose 5 to 10 percent of your performance. And the riders definitely feel that," concludes the Belgian team doctor.