KIGALI (Rwanda) – After the arrival, while Pogacar was still partying with the team and the partner, Remco Evenepoel went to sit against a barrier with his head in his hands (Opening photo). Second place stings, and the fact that it was triggered by a mechanical problem makes it even more painful. On the podium the Belgian had a vaguely sad smile, but gradually he recovered his sense of things. After won gold in the time trialThe Belgian took silver on the road. If there were a combined ranking for the two disciplines, adding together the time trial and road race times, he would still be the leader in the challenge against Pogacar, with a margin of 1'09". Better to smile and put a good face on a bad situation.
His day was colorful, as was his week. It started with the stellar time trial in which he imposed his law even on PogacarIt continued with a confident press conference and a statement about Italians that lent itself to some unpleasant interpretations. When the race began, we saw him stop and get into a chemical toiletThen he changed bikes twice, resulting in a scene of anger that has now gone viral on social media. And finally, after getting things back on track, he expressed himself in such a powerful pursuit that he had Ciccone removed from the wheel on the plain and downhill and not uphillHe explained his day when, last of the three on the podium, he came to tell his story in front of the audience of journalists.
Why those disconsolate minutes after arrival?
Maybe I'll look at it differently later, but I'm not feeling very well at the moment.
What happened that made you change your bike twice?
Before Mount Kigali, I ended up in a pothole in the road and the saddle fell down, so much so that sitting became a problem. Then the climb began and The cramps in my hamstrings have become increasingly severe. It wasn't great. And once Tadej launched his attack, which I knew would happen, I had cramps and couldn't push properly. It might seem strange, but that's how it works. when you change position drasticallyUntil I found some teammates and told them they had to bring me back in, but that at the finish I would have to change bikes.
First change: what next?
At the garage they passed me the third bike, which I don't use much. I felt that the saddle was too horizontal and that it was starting to give me a hard time. a lot of lower back problems, due to my past injuriesSo I didn't even get a lap of it, because I was really struggling. At that point I stopped to get the second bike from the car. Unfortunately, there were some riders behind me and a bit of traffic on that stretch, so I had to wait a bit for the carOnce I got on the bike, I felt like I was in the right position and everything was working properly. So I rejoined the race and finished in second place.
Have you even thought for a second about retiring?
Yes, I thought so. I was stuck, my bike broken. I looked in amazement at my gap which was now 1'45"At that point I asked myself: why continue? There were still five laps or something like that to go, so it was tough. But then we found ourselves among the team cars, at least until the barrage, and so I returned to the group. With the second bike change, I felt better again, my legs were spinning and I had less cramps.I felt there was still some power and something to do. Obviously, at that point, the gap was already too big to close, because we all know that if Tadej gets a lead, he doesn't slow down. We are good time trialists, we know how to maintain a certain margin. So, at that point the race was already lost, I could only hope for the best and aim for the maximum.
You did really well, did you know you were doing so well?
I think I went pretty fast, but Tadej once again had a phenomenal run at the world championshipsI was frustrated because I knew today could have gone differently without the bike problems. I think that If I hadn't had cramps on Mount Kigali, I would have been able to keep up with him and Del ToroAnd at that point the race would have been over, because the three of us would have gone really far. I had the legs, but I also had a bit of bad luck.
Do you notice that the gap with Tadej is getting smaller and smaller?
I realize that my level has gone up. Today I finished behind Pogacar, but not three minutes behind like at Lombardy last yearI was a minute behind, and it didn't become a three-way line. I chased him, going at his same speed. At one point, three of us lost ground. I was working hard, but I felt that Ben and Matthias (Healy and Skjelmose, ed.) were slowing us down, and that's why I decided to try on the top of the golf course climb. And in the end, I always maintained the same gap. I feel pretty good and I hope to be able to maintain this form next week at the European Championships and then also at the Lombardia.It's a race that I'd like to win at some point in my career.
Some riders said it was the toughest race of their careers.
Not for me, for example Glasgow was something completely different because you were always uphill. Of course, the cobbled section at the end made everything really difficult, because you start to get tired and then you have that cobblestone again, and that cobblestone again, and again, and again. It wasn't something that bothered me, but eventually I started to hate it. It didn't seem like the toughest race to me., probably because I'm in great shape.
Why did you have to go to a portable toilet at some point? Stomach problems?
I had to pee and I didn't dare go somewhere else for fear of being disqualified. But then, after a few kilometers, I saw three Australians doing it on the side of the road. And then I asked myself: why didn't I do it too? But it's true that in the last few days I've had some stomach problems, I don't need to explain what (laughs, ed.). At the beginning of the race it went quite well, but As soon as I started swallowing some gels, I felt a bit of stomach cramps.But they didn't slow me down, it's just that after arriving I had to run to the bathroom to let off steam, so to speak. I don't think I'm the first, nor the last, on this trip to have stomach problems.
Could winning next Sunday's European Championship restore balance?
The last month of my season has long had three goals: the World Cup in Kigali, Europeans in Ardeche and LombardyThe European Championships jersey is also the only one missing from my wardrobe, so I'll be very motivated next weekend. But I'm not looking for revenge, it's just a very ambitious goal and I feel ready.. So I hope to recover well and then we'll try again.
