Tadej Pogacar’s birthday party spoiled by the Belgians: "If I’d known, maybe I would have had extra motivation"

Before the World Time Trial Championships, everything pointed to a duel between Evenepoel and Pogacar, but in practice, that didn't happen. At the first intermediate point, the difference was already 45 seconds, and in the end, the man in light blue even managed to pass the man in bright green just before the finish.

“I gave it my all,” said Pogacar. “Of course, I'm disappointed that Remco passed me, but he was so fast. It's unbelievable how good he is, and I have to congratulate him: what an achievement,” said the Slovenian, gracious in defeat. After the race, he was also the first to congratulate Evenepoel on his title.

“It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Remco is Remco. I hope he has prepared himself fully for the time trial and that he will be 99 instead of 100 percent on Sunday,” Pogacar said with a wink, celebrating his 27th birthday in Rwanda on Sunday.

In the end, Jay Vine and Ilan Van Wilder were also just ahead of Pogacar, who thus missed out on the podium. “Finishing one second shy of the podium gives me a bittersweet feeling. If I had known the difference was so small, I would have had some extra motivation. But I didn’t know.”

"I can be happy with how I suffered in these circumstances: before the Canadian races, I couldn't do my time trial training because of illness," the Slovenian searched for clues. "With the time trial in mind, I might have been better off skipping Quebec and Montreal, but missing those training sessions changed the situation somewhat. If I wanted to be good for the road race, that was the right choice."

"I can be satisfied and am looking forward to the road race on Sunday. I still have two tough training sessions to do, and then I'll be ready. The road race has always been my main goal," Pogacar concluded.