"I am as strong as I’ve ever been on the bike" - Can Matteo Jorgenson give USA a Rainbow Jersey in Zurich?

If the USA are to bring home a Rainbow Jersey from the men's elite road race in Zurich, arguably their most likely shot in a very strong lineup, is Matteo Jorgenson. Ahead of the race, the 25-year-old was feeling confident.

“This morning, together with my teammates, we were laughing a lot. It's really nice. Racing with seven friends gives a good feeling," the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider said with a smile to Eurosport from the start line on Sunday morning. "It's going to be hard to control today. Teams are going to try, but it's going to be a race you don't see very often. It's such a long ride. We can't go full throttle all the time. The last few laps will bring the strongest guys to the front."

Earlier this week, Jorgenson further put forward his claim for World Championships glory in comments to Velo. “After the Olympics, I was pretty tired of being in the whole world of cycling,” he says. “The Tour, the Dauphiné, the Olympics, and that was a lot to handle mentally. I think I bridged the gap between Paris and here pretty well. After the year I’ve had, I am as strong as I’ve ever been on the bike. It was more about getting myself motivated again before worlds.”

“It’s a difficult course, and it’s going to be a long day. Anyone who says otherwise is lying,” Jorgenson added. “The way the circuit flows is interesting. The climb goes on for a long time, but it’s not a steady effort. There are a lot of ups and downs and drags, making it feel much longer than it actually is. It’s about 3km of true climbing each lap, but you’re doing efforts for 20 minutes per lap. It’s going to be an attritional race that wears everyone down.”

“Tadej Pogacar is the obvious favourite. We’ll see if the Slovenian team can control it. Remco Evenepoel is another big contender. If the race comes down to legs, he’s the only one who could really challenge Pogacar. But there are a lot of riders who could win if the race becomes chaotic enough,” the American concludes. “The main favourites can count on waiting. It’s such a long, tough race that the strongest will always make it to the front. But it’s going to be pretty uncontrolled, and a lot of nations and riders will try to shake things up. In a race like this, the strongest guys should come out on top. But I don’t think it’s helpful to have seven riders solely working for me. We’ll be aggressive as a team, and that’s the way to race in these kinds of events. I’m not like Pogacar — I can’t just ride everyone off the wheel in the last two laps. It’s not a productive way to race.”