"Mathieu is a worthy successor" - Remco Evenepoel passes on the Rainbow Jersey to Van der Poel

After just under a year in the Rainbow Jersey, Remco Evenepoel is no longer the world champion. That title now falls on the shoulders of Mathieu van der Poel after a brilliant day of racing in Glasgow.

“It went well, but I'm not the type of rider who can keep accelerating and pushing. My legs were completely full. The most difficult point for me was the park. First we drove up a bit, then we got some technical corners, followed by the tricky part," Evenepoel analyses in his post-stage interview with Sporza. "I didn't really enjoy myself, but somehow I did."

Belgium had gone into the race as the fancied nation due to the likes of Evenepoel, Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen. Despite having three riders finish in the top 10 and van Aert in second though, the Rainbow Jersey leaves Belgium.

"I tried to harden the course in function of Wout. One of us was supposed to drive away. On this course, however, it was better for us that Wout was with us, because he can do this better," Evenepoel explains. "I would have preferred Wout as champion. So that we keep the jersey in our country. But Mathieu, just like Wout, Tadej Pogacar and Mads Pedersen, is a worthy successor. Nice that a big name can wear the rainbow jersey."

“On a course like this, I'm constantly pushing two hundred watts less than those top players in an attack," he laments, looking to explain his performance. "You really see that reflected in position loss. So it was the intention to go from afar, but they didn't really let me go."