"Extra stress for Pogacar could cause him to make a mistake" - Remco Evenepoel believes the fact he's already won Rainbow Jersey could give him advantage

This Sunday, the men's elite road race takes place at the 2024 World Championships in Zürich. Pre-race, much of the talk has been surrounding the all-conquering Tadej Pogacar and the 2022 road race champion, Remco Evenepoel.

Speaking ahead of the fight for the Rainbow Jersey, in Belgium's pre-race press conference, Evenepoel alluded to the fact that because he has already seen himself crowned champion of the world puts less pressure on his shoulders, as opposed to Pogacar, who despite his incredible palmares, has never managed to don the iconic Rainbow Jersey.

"Maybe that will cause some extra stress for Pogacar, which could cause him to make a mistake or take a bit more risk than someone else," the Belgian, double Olympic champion ponders aloud. Nevertheless, Evenepoel is far from taking Pogacar lightly. "But I think that he is so strong this year, that this will not be the case right away and that he has so much confidence in himself that he can win the race even without a top day."

"The most important thing will be to always be well-positioned as a team on the steepest part of the local laps. Because that's where we have to squeeze... Although that won't be the case in the final laps either," Evenepoel continues, noting the strength of the Belgian team, which could be another benefit to his own hopes of victory on Sunday in Switzerland. "But with Tiesj Benoot, Jasper Stuyven, Tim Wellens, Maxim Van Gils, Laurens De Plus and myself, I'm not immediately afraid that we'll be blown away there quickly."

More than just Evenepoel and Pogacar, the rest of the challengers include the likes of the current Rainbow Jersey holder Mathieu van der Poel. "Last time I went on a bike ride with Mathieu [2 or 3 weeks ago], he wasn't climbing that well. But he's rider who can peak like no other. He's heavier than Tadej and me, that's a small disadvantage for him," Evenepoel says in quotes collected by In de Leiderstrui.