Van Wilder watched from hot seat "with quite some stress" as Pogacar tried to profit from Evenepoel’s slipstream

And so, Evenepoel's fellow countryman was able to join the world champion at his press conference as the bronze medalist. “I had a good day. I said beforehand that my goal was to finish in the top ten and that on a good day I might be able to finish in the top five, but this is beyond my expectations.”

“With this course and these conditions, it was probably my best chance ever to finish on the podium of the World Time Trial Championships,” he continued. “I had a good pace and was very satisfied with my performance afterwards. From the hot seat, I saw quite a few men explode, so my hopes of making the podium grew.”

It certainly was exciting. Van Wilder just managed to keep Pogacar and Isaac del Toro off the bronze medal. While Evenepoel crossed the finish line cheering, his compatriot was mainly concerned with the Slovenian's time. “Tadej came very close, and he had some slipstream from Remco, so I was quite stressed. In the end, the difference was one and a half seconds, but in my favor. For me, third or fourth is a difference between night and day.”

Koen Pelgrim, the coach of both Evenepoel and Van Wilder, confided to us after the race that the number three is very good at altitude. An advantage, especially in Kigali. “I didn't do any specific altitude training because I knew I could handle it pretty well. In the end, everything just fell into place: this is without a doubt the best performance of my career.”