“I thought it was a suicide attempt" - Remco Evenepoel left stunned by Tadej Pogacar's brilliance in Zurich

Remco Evenepoel wasn't quite able to complete a double-double with victory in the men's elite road race at the 2024 World Championships in Zurich. Afterwards though, the Belgian had no excuses, instead paying full tribute to new Rainbow Jersey, Tadej Pogacar.

In typically brilliant Pogacar style, the Slovenian attacked with 100km still to go. Despite the herculean effort required from there, Evenepoel and co, simply didn't see the Slovenian again until the finish line. “I honestly didn’t expect it to happen so early," Evenepoel admits in his post-race interview to VTM. “I thought it was a suicide attempt. When Mathieu van der Poel and I looked at each other, we thought it was a ‘crazy move’. But Tadej also had a strong rider in front (Jan Tratnik, ed.). It’s really exceptional that he was able to stay ahead, because we really didn’t sit still. There’s not much to add to that.”

More than just because of the brilliance of his victory in Zurich, Evenepoel believes Pogacar is a deserved world champion. “This is exceptional,” Evenepoel admitted. “He is the best rider of the year and the only one who deserves to wear the rainbow jersey. It is special and quite unique that he attacked with 100 kilometres to go and that we did not come much closer. But I really could not do more. From lap four or five onwards, it was always going super deep and dying a little every lap. It was really a gruelling World Championship.”

And for Evenepoel himself, the podium eventually proved elusive as the Belgian crossed the line in 5th. “Van der Poel and Toms Skujins are faster than me in such flat finishes. I can hardly beat them then," he concludes. "A medal would have been nice, but that wouldn't have changed my career much. I came here for the rainbow jersey, but that wasn't in the cards. Tadej was simply outstanding .”