Remco Evenepoel won the 2022 World Championships in Wollongong but to win out of a surprise attack is no longer feasible for the Belgian at such a high level. The Olympic Road Race champion has had a brilliant few months so little pressure on his shoulders, but he will want to succeed today in Zurich to make more history in the sport.
"You have to start from scratch every time. When you achieve a nice victory, you have to switch gears and focus on the next challenge," Evenepoel said in a pre-race interview this morning. After the Tour de France he emerged in perfect form for the Olympic Games; and then took some rest finally. The Tour of Britain was a modest showing of power, but his time-trial world title was evidence of improvement over the past few weeks. If he is at his best, he will be a big threat to the win today.
"It won't be easy today. It's close together. It's a challenging course with opportunities for several types of riders. It simply depends on the legs in the final." Uphill it will be hard to make serious difference taking into consideration the presence of Tadej Pogacar and other top climbers; but the Swiss course presents many opportunities to surprise.
Belgian coach Sven Vanthourenhout also shared his thoughts this morning, and very aware that the team has the cards and may have to deploy them to make it a tactical race. "The French team will probably try to place an attack from far away. It's up to us to make sure no dangerous groups ride away," he said. "As long as we do that, it's lap by lap. We've seen with the women that you can easily blow yourself up. It's about being patient and staying as fresh as possible."
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