"Evenepoel is made to sit on a time trial bike" - Tom Dumoulin believes in Remco Evenepoel's qualities for the World Championships

The World Championships time trial in Zurich will have one overwhelming favourite in the Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who had already taken the rainbow jersey in Glasgow. Fellow time trial specialist Tom Dumoulin, who is now retired, believes in Belgian's victory considering his qualities.

"What strikes me most is that he is terribly aerodynamic. Evenepoel is made to sit on a time trial bike," Dumoulin analyzes for WielerFlits. "He can put his head between his shoulders very nicely. He is not very tall and he combines that with a very high power. That is still much less high than, for example, Ganna. Even then Evenepoel can still be two minutes faster. It is not about who pedals away the highest watts, but about power times aerodynamics. That is the time trial game and Evenepoel is simply insanely good at it."

"You can see that on the road too. Other riders simply have trouble keeping up with him. That's not just because he rides very fast, but also because he's terribly aero. Remco really cuts through the wind. That's also why he's still a bit short uphill. Uphill, the aerodynamics part hardly counts anymore. It's about power per kilogram of body weight. And then you suddenly see Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar who are a class better than Evenepoel."

But neither of the two men who beat Evenepoel in the final time trial at Tour de France will start in Zurich. According to Dumoulin, Tarling is also the one who poses the greatest threat to the Belgian. "Joshua is admittedly a lot less aerodynamic than Evenepoel, but he does have really insane powers. Remco has to have a good day, otherwise he can't afford anything. Tarling has been knocking on the door for a good year now. If he doesn't get a flat tire during the Olympic Games, he still won't beat Evenepoel. But then he would have been very close. In other words, Remco has to be really good to win the world title again."