“I didn’t expect to be on the podium" - Edoardo Affini adds to European time trial title with World Championships podium

Edoardo Affini has been having a brilliant few weeks. After taking the men's individual time trial title at the 2024 European Championships, the Italian has backed it up with a third placed finish at the World Championships on Sunday afternoon in Zürich.

“It’s a great feeling,” the 28-year-old, who plies his trade at Team Visma | Lease a Bike reflects afterwards in conversation with Cycling Pro Net. “I didn’t expect to be on the podium. To be honest, I thought a top-10 finish would be a good result. I dreamed of a top-5. When I was in the hot seat and saw others crossing the finish line, I slowly started to think that there was more in it.”

In an added bonus for the Italian, Affini shared the final podium with compatriot Filippo Ganna, although both had to concede victory to the faultless Remco Evenepoel. “It is very nice that I can share the podium with Filippo. I am disappointed for him, because he came close," Affini assesses. "It would have been perfect if he had won, but this is also very nice. Remco just did very well."

"The last few days were all about recovering after the Vuelta and the European Championships," Affini concludes his post-race assessment. "It seems to have worked. Maybe it is an option to race a lot more often and just rest in between. Although it can’t get any busier than this!”