"I'm ready" - Remco Evenepoel has done everything necessary to defend time-trial world title, but will it be enough to hold off Pogacar?

Remco Evenepoel is flying to Rwanda today in advance to the Kigali World Championships, where he will race the time-trial already this Sunday. He will have to face Tadej Pogacar in a tough route, but the defending champion believes he's done everything he could to take a third consecutive title.

"We knew the travel plan well in advance, so we could adjust accordingly. We can use today as a recovery day and then fit in two more good training days. Then we should be fine," Evenepoel shared with Sporza this morning.

After the Tour de France and the announcement of his transfer to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, the Belgian spent a few weeks in Livigno training at altitude. He returned to racing at the Tour of Britain where he raced without pressure, but still won the queen stage to The Tumble and finished second in the overall classification.

Afterwards, a few days in Spain where he lives, adapting again to the heat and dialing in the final preparations towards the worlds. "I was able to do everything I needed to do perfectly. It was a relaxing ten days. I trained well and have a good feeling about it. I'm ready to go."

"It's going to be a unique experience. I'm very curious about what it will be like with the crowds and the course. I'm quite open-minded, so I'm not stressed about that. I've already been to Africa, to Morocco. Although that's a different region, of course. I love discovering new places, so that's a bonus."

But he will face, in his own territory, the most dangerous of rivals: "And when Pogacar sets his mind on something, that's a sign that he feels ready for it. I'm looking forward to the battle. Hopefully, it won't be a close one, but he's a great extra challenger. There are other strong men, of course. Jay Vine, for example, is in good shape. But it's up to me to defend my rainbow jersey."

Evenepoel was also asked about what will follow after the worlds, which he clears out, will be the European Championships where he will fight for more titles. "I won't be home right away, because I'm still riding the European Championships, which immediately follow the World Championships. I'm just going to try to give my best in every race and hopefully come home with as many jerseys as possible."

"Of course, there might be a bad day now and then, but I've prepared well enough to be ready for two weeks of competition. I won't be training much in between. That makes sense, to be in the best possible position at the start of each race. The plan I've drawn up is well-structured," he assured.