Remco Evenepoel takes Filippo Ganna's World Championship comments with a grain of salt: 'He says that every time'

"If you can raise your hands in the air during a time trial, you're a great rider," says Daan Hoole, who finished ninth in the World Championship time trial.

Filippo Ganna, who finished second, 57 seconds behind, nodded as well. “I think I did everything right. My power output was very high compared to the predictions, and my time was faster than the team’s calculations. I think I rode my best 45-minute power output ever.”

"Those last 500 meters uphill weren't exactly a walk in the park," Evenepoel himself remarked during his press conference. “But then again, with 10 kilometers to go, I already knew, of course, that the lead was pretty big. And I had the feeling that I was closing in on Filippo in the final stretch.”

"Even on the big screen, I could see that with 150 meters to go, there was still plenty of time left. So it’s always great to be able to celebrate a time trial, and this one in particular—with such an exceptional result—makes it extra special. So yeah, really cool,” said Evenepoel, who crossed the finish line with his new celebratory gesture.

In the photo, we see him with two fingers around his eye and looking straight ahead. “It’s just generally ‘focused on the future’—that’s the message behind the gesture. But it makes me happy that everyone is asking questions about it; I hope that means you guys liked it. So that’s the explanation behind it,” said Evenepoel.

We also asked the Belgian winner the following question: “Filippo just told us that he rode his best 45-minute effort ever. Can you tell us a little about how your race went?”

Evenepoel chuckled. “Well, he says that every time. Every time he finishes second or wins, he always says he rode at his best, but I think that’s hard to say in this time trial. Of course, there were a lot of turns, so the average power and the normalized power are quite far apart.'

"But personally, I felt like I was putting out some really good power on the flats. And I think that if he had really given his best 45-minute effort, he would have been a little closer," said Evenepoel. "But anyway, no, it was a special time trial, and of course I also rode a very good time trial in terms of power output and cornering, so I’m just happy with what I showed today."

Ganna even looked disheartened. “I totally understand that he’d hoped to be closer to me in a time trial like today’s, since it was almost entirely flat, except for the last 2 to 3 kilometers. And when it comes to navigating turns, he’s usually gained a lot of time on me in the past, but I think I’ve improved tremendously at handling both the time-trial bike and the regular bike.”

"In terms of confidence, too, it really helps to dare to attack the turns. So yes, I do understand that he’s a little… that he’s lost some hope, but personally, I would never give up, because anything can change," Evenepoel offers some casual advice. "So yes, I’ll always give it my all in the time trials, and next year I’m definitely going to try to go for that fifth title. It’s up to him to close the gap."

Just to be clear: these aren't any jabs. "I have a lot of respect for him, and the feeling is mutual. We respect each other immensely—not just on the time-trial bike, but we also get along really well off the bike."