Evenepoel "delivered on the expectations" according to Tadej Pogacar

Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel are still in under-23 age, but both have become two of the most successful stage racers in the current peloton. Both will surely battle in future Grand Tours, but for now it is mostly talks, and the Slovenian shows a great deal of respect for the current leader of the Vuelta a Espana.

“I think next year is gonna be really interesting… I think even bigger competition is coming for the next couple of years," Pogacar told reporters ahead of the GP de Québec in a press conference: "I also hope Egan Bernal will come back after his crash. We're gonna have a fantastic couple of years battling each other.”

The two have not faced in the under-23 ranks as Pogacar was promoted to World Tour at a young age and Evenepoel skipped it outright, however as the Belgian is showing a great deal of quality at the Vuelta a Espana, it is assured that he will keep his focus on the Grand Tours for the coming years. “Remco looks super good. In my opinion, he's in a good position to bring it home. He looks strong, he looks calm. He's really, really strong," Pogacar thinks.

“Everybody knows that he's super strong and super talented. He can do everything: time trial, climb and ride on the flat. I was expecting him to be good and he’s delivered on the expectations," he added. The two have battled at Tirreno-Adriatico this year, but in the queen stage the Quick-Step rider was nowhere near the climbing numbers he's having at this time of the year, in what was the only stage-race where both have raced simultaneously.

Pogacar is in Canada this week to race the Canadian classics, where he will look to perform and prime his form ahead of the World Championships: “Now I'm ready to restart this season. I'm motivated for the last part of it and I'm happy to be racing again. It's been a long season and I’m looking forward to my winter break but there are still some really nice one-day races to come too.”

“The race organisation is good and they’re circuit races, which I normally like but these races are a bit more technical and with short climbing, so it's gonna be difficult on Friday. But on Sunday, if I have a good day, I hope that I can do something," he hinted.