Van Aert and Evenepoel return to the drawing board after Pogačar's withdrawal from the World Championships

On Monday, the Belgian Cycling Federation announced its teams for the upcoming World Championships in Montreal, Canada. Naturally, Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert are included as team leaders for the elite men. National team coach Serge Pauwels explains his plans and selections for the rest of the team in an interview with Sporza.

"The tactics get complex, but I want to make them very clear to my team leaders. After all, we don't have earpieces at a World Championship," said Pauwels. "We have two leaders who want to win, but it’s also about the instructions they receive from me and the responsibility they must take during the race. When can they attack, and when should they wait? I want to make that very clear to them."

"I had already started on it, but after Tadej Pogačar withdrew, I obviously have to go back to the drawing board. We’ll have our first meeting about 10 days before the World Championships. I think it’s important to do that in advance and not wait until the last minute. Everyone needs to know their role,” said Pauwels, who has seen Van Aert performing well in the Vuelta these past few weeks. Evenepoel will race on Friday and Sunday in Quebec and Montreal.

"When Remco comes out of his bubble after his high-altitude training camp, he’s always well-prepared. But I’ve told him that the result has to be viewed separately from the World Championships. A rider is only as good as his last result,” said Pauwels, who is clearly opting for a two-leader strategy—even with Thibau Nys on the team. “Thibau’s role will clearly be to support the team. There’s no room for a third team leader.”

Also joining the team are Alec Segaert (who will also compete in the time trial), Maxim Van Gils, Quinten Hermans, Gianni Vermeersch, and Tiesj Benoot. “Van Gils was a sure thing; Vermeersch is very good at positioning the team leaders and will focus primarily on looking out for Evenepoel. In principle, Quinten Hermans will be the rider who stays with Van Aert,” said Pauwels.

How does Pauwels envision a World Championship without Pogačar? “His absence changes the race. It makes a huge difference, but I certainly didn’t do a little dance of joy. We now bear a responsibility that we can’t shy away from. With Pogačar in the race, he dictated how the race would unfold. We’re now the favorites, and we can’t shirk that role.”

"We have riders who can skillfully steer the race in our favor. Taking responsibility doesn't mean we'll ride at the front recklessly," the team manager assures us.