"No pressure" for Evenepoel at Time-Trial World Championships despite eyeing gold medal

This Sunday will see the beginning of the World Championships, and Remco Evenepoel has been heavily marked as a main favourite after his recent successes. He's given a press conference this Friday regarding his expectations for the race, in which he can take his first rainbow stripes as an Elite rider.

"My season has already been successful, but I would like to win. I am here with a lot of ambition. I have recovered enough. I did it very calmly for 4 days and that did me good," he told reporters. "I knew in advance that it should be this way. I was mentally ready for that. Racing a World Cup for your own country, you don't just let that go. It is also always said that after a Grand Tour you find magical legs and drive a [cassette] tooth bigger.

His participation in the Worlds was already planned for a while, and his recent impressive win in the Vuelta a Espana time-trial not only showed that his weight loss didn't prevent him from performing at the highest level, but also that everything was in place for an attempt on the win at the Worlds. He's celebrated his win in Madrid this Sunday, but in complete opposite fashion to Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, Evenepoel has quickly recovered a few days and has flown into Australia in search of more success.

"I hope so. We already planned 3 months ago how we would fill in this week. This is the best possible recovery week. It was a good decision to come here as soon as possible after the Vuelta, both for my body and for the "championship". Although I will also be happy when I can let go of everything after the World Championship," he said. 

He'll have to face the likes of Filippo Ganna, Stefan Küng and Stefan Bissegger who recently had a close battle at the European Championships. The circuit however, is one that pleases the youngster: "It is a difficult course, with about 400 vertical meters in the beginning and a final straight line of six kilometers. There I will be able to use my aero."

"I have worked hard on my time trial. My worst performance this year is 2nd, that would be very good on Sunday. Although I would of course prefer to win. The form of the day, the legs and the heavy effort will also play their part there," he points out.

After winning the Vuelta however, Evenepoel claims that "there is no pressure for me anymore. My season has already been more than successful. But I had a good feeling in training today. I have confidence in it. I am here with a lot of ambition and I really want to win," he concluded.