STIRLING – Remco Evenepoel has taken another rainbow jersey. And since he had to hand over the road jersey to Van der Poel just last Sunday, he reached out for the time trial, spoiling the evening Goofy Ganna and to the whole blue clan who hoped to be on the doorstep of another gold medal. Which perhaps would have even arrived if the Piedmontese had been able to recover from the track in the necessary time. Or did someone think that by combining the two world championships, the athletes would perform at their best as if the effort did not add up? Anyway, there is the'silver for an athlete who returns home with three medals: one for each race competedAnd silver is the least precious metal he conquered. Let's try to understand each other...
Montecchi and Capulets
On one side of the podium, leaning against the barriers were Giovanni Lombardi and Marco Ganna, Filippo's father. Right in front, next to the writer, there was instead Oumi: Mrs. Evenepoel, elegant and happyThe 12 seconds that at the end of the time trial world championship separated Remco and Filippo – the same from start to finish – are a small space like the distance between these two families, destined to share the laurels of time trials for a long time.
From the top of the podium, Remco did nothing but exchange glances and messages with his wife, playing with the Highland cow plush toy and pointing to the crowd of fans crowded around a tomb in the monumental cemetery chanting his name.
«I heard – he laughs – that they are the first Belgian ever to become world time trial champion And also that I'm the youngest. It's fantastic. This was one of my biggest goals of the season. It's nice to have managed to win on such a tough course, which maybe it wasn't even perfect for a rider of my weight. I think I had a super good day."
Under control
At one point it seemed that it was him who put a stop to the incitements coming from the car behind him, but his intermediates have certainly always been better than Ganna's. Pippo tried, but the feeling was that of a minimal and unbridgeable gap between two athletes who were pushing themselves to the maximum.
«In these days that we could define as perfect – explains Evenepoel – I don't want too many directions from the car: I was telling him thisI only need trajectory data, not pace recommendations. To be honest, I was able to go even faster than we'd planned. I was able to add another 10-15 watts and after thirty minutes I felt that I was not yet at the limitAt the second intermediate point I also knew I was faster than Pippo (Filippo Ganna, ed.) and this gave me a boost, especially because a section that went up and down sharply was coming up. I knew I would lose something on the final downhill stretch due to the weight difference, but also that I would regain on the last climb. It was a knife in the legs, but our strategy was perfect."
The limits to overcome
Ganna says it clearly: I can't go any further than this, we'll need to find a solution related to materials or aerodynamics.The thought is legitimate, if the difference is the same from the first kilometers and remains unchanged with almost the same push.
"Remco is young," Pippo says. "He's the future, but also the present. He's the one I'll have to deal with if I want to win the rainbow jersey again, but I think that Improving performance will be difficult. The numbers are already high.We have two completely different structures, so I think we will have to try to work on the aerodynamics. My race strategy was clearI had to try to stay close to the threshold as long as possible and I think in the end I have never done a time trial of this level in my lifeI really have to find a solution for my aerodynamics».
Three races, three medals
He's tired, even a little disappointed, but He fought like a warrior: we can only say thank you.During the warm-up he seemed calm, as Piero Baffi, who takes care of his legs, confirmed this morning. He was depicted as calm on the eve of one of the many time trials, with the difference that he would have the best in the world ahead of him. Even if then It took just a few kilometers to understand that the enemy to beat would be Evenepoel.
«I'm tired – says Ganna – I've been here for two weeks, first for the track and now for the time trial. Sure gold is better than silver, but I left the track with a gold e a silver and here I got another silverI can't complain. Remco was stronger, but I don't know. how many in these world championships have won medals in every race they have doneIt's hard to do track and road in five days. Going from four-minute races to one-hour races. And now I have to recover for the VueltaThe team wanted me for the first team time trial, and I don't know what condition I'll be in after another twenty days of racing. I'll try to stay close to Thomas..."
The wind and the big wheels
From one rainbow jersey to another, Evenepoel responded to the lapse after the road world championship, in which he was among the most anticipated and which instead left with a very heavy deficit.
«It's a shame that we came second that day with Van Aert – he replies – but for me that race was too hard, too explosiveI had good legs, but it wasn't my type of running. Today was much more so (laughs, ed.). We've been focusing on this event for a long time, I'm happy that all those hours of work paid offThe only problem I had was the wind. I used the tallest wheels I had been training with all weekThe bike was perfect, just I would have needed to weigh a few more kilos (laughs again, ed.)».
Few celebrations
Remco is predictably in a good mood, but he has a calm and thoughtful timbre of voiceHe says that his next goal is the Vuelta, but that Sooner or later he will also have his sights set on the Giro and the Tour, for which he will have to improve furtherAnd if anything, he complains that he won't be able to celebrate as he would like.
«Last year I won the Return – he tells and laughs – and I only had to throw a small party, because then I had to leave for the Australian trip. which was complicated. Now I can't wait to start again and spend a few days at home with my wife and family, that I haven't seen for a long time. Then I'll go back up to the mountains and from there I'll go to the Vuelta."
His fans are still outside calling for him. on this evening that will inevitably have the flavour of beer as much as the day, in the explosion of shouts along the route and of wild screams in his direction when he climbed onto the podium. On this festive evening, we note that Remco declined to answer questions about his future at Ineos.He stared at the journalist who asked him, then turned to the conference moderator: "Next question." The next question.
