On Thursday night, the Street World Championships press pack decamped 30km south of Zürich to the city of Cham on the northern shore of Lake Zug. In generations previous, this was the sort of pilgrimage reserved for audiences with the standard powers like Italy and Belgium, however the panorama of biking has shifted within the 2020s.
Nowadays, the epicentre is in Slovenia. Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič have made certain of that. Between them, they’ve swept this season’s Grand Excursions, and on Sunday, all eyes are on Pogačar as he appears to be like to emulate Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche by finishing the Triple Crown of Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Worlds.
On arriving at Slovenia’s base on the OYM Centre, a multi-sports complicated on the outskirts of Cham, journalists have been ushered right into a banked auditorium to await the arrival of Pogačar and Roglič. Earlier than the press convention acquired underway, the founding father of the centre, one Dr Hans-Peter Strebel supplied a type of obscure infomercial about his enterprise earlier than the star turns lastly took centre stage.
Like in Imola in 2020, the practicalities of Roglič and Pogačar’s co-existence within the Slovenian group has been the topic of some intrigue forward of the race. As of their pre-race video convention webinar in Italy 4 years in the past, nonetheless, there was solely mutual bonhomie on present on Thursday night, as they smiled and shrugged their method a half-hour press convention, talking first in Slovenian after which in English.
In an interview with state broadcaster RTV Slovenija this week, Roglič had acknowledged that he had “nothing to lose” in Sunday’s race, including that he wouldn’t have “ten extra World Championships forward”. On Thursday night, nonetheless, Roglič breezily acknowledged that one-day racing was a sphere higher suited to his compatriot than to him.
“Trying to myself and Tadej, he’s profitable all of the one-day races, he is likely one of the greatest ones at this. Myself, I simply do a few them a yr,” Roglič mentioned. “It’s a pleasant problem, and the problem is to get the very best out with the fellows. On paper, now we have sturdy names, however I favor to be sturdy on the highway. That’s the vital one.”
Requested what would occur if he and Pogačar discovered themselves alone collectively on the head of the race within the finale, Roglič shrugged playfully. “I assume one will probably be first and one will probably be second, I don’t know,” he mentioned. “We are going to play a recreation, eh.”
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Pogačar smiled as he took up the microphone: “Yeah, rock, paper, scissors, it’s the usual protocol.”
Slovenia will probably be with out Matej Mohorič, who withdrew this week with a wrist damage, however their standing as a superpower is underlined by the actual fact they’ve certified a full complement of eight riders for Sunday’s race. Roglič is a harmful outsider, regardless of his struggles in final weekend’s time trial, however Pogačar is unquestionably the alpha and omega of nationwide coach Uroš Murn’s plans for these Worlds.
“A rainbow jersey is one thing actually particular in biking, essentially the most distinctive jersey,” Pogačar mentioned. “Everyone needs it, I might guess. You put on all of it yr spherical and it defines you as the very best rider on the earth. It’s an enormous purpose for me for the final couple of years. I’ll attempt for it this yr and if not, then within the subsequent couple of years.”
Pogačar has lined up on the Worlds in every of his 5 skilled seasons, however his report within the race is curiously underwhelming. Previous to his bronze medal in Glasgow final yr, the largest impression he made on the occasion got here in Imola, when he launched a daring assault on the penultimate lap in a yr when Roglič was clearly Slovenia’s most popular possibility.
“Final yr in Glasgow, I need to say it was one of many hardest races I’ve ever completed,” Pogačar mentioned. “It was not a parcours actually fitted to me, it was too explosive within the final three hours of racing, and I used to be exhausted after the race. This yr is a lot better, so let’s see what this race holds.”
2024
Pogačar was working on fumes by the point he reached the Glasgow Worlds, a degree hammered residence by his lacklustre exhibiting within the time trial that adopted. His 2023 marketing campaign was attempting one after the crash that pressured him out of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and he had arrived in Scotland on the again of one other bruising Tour defeat to Jonas Vingegaard.
2024, in contrast, has been the yr the place just about every thing Pogačar has tried has come off. The closest factor to a setback got here when Milan-San Remo once more eluded his grasp in March. Since then, he has put collectively (one other) season for the ages, annexing the primary Giro-Tour double since 1998 whereas racking up half a dozen stage wins in every race.
Pogačar’s final outing earlier than this Worlds was an ominous solo victory on the Grand Prix de Montréal, a race with an identical altitude acquire to Sunday’s important occasion, a 274km race that concludes with seven laps of an arduous 27km circuit round Zürich.
“It’s a tough parcours. Not one of the climbs are actually lengthy, but it surely’s not straight downhill after the climbs so there’s not plenty of time to recuperate,” Pogačar mentioned.
“I can see plenty of situations, as a result of there’s plenty of house for long-range assaults and to make the race exhausting.
“It’s exhausting to say if the primary exhausting climb [Zürichbergstrasse] is hard sufficient to make the distinction. However I feel in the long run the distinction will come from the size of the race and the way exhausting it’s.”
Pogačar warned in opposition to counting out the defending champion Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) on this rugged course – “I noticed someplace he misplaced 1.5kg” – and he gently dismissed the concept that he may want to complete alone to win the rainbow jersey: “Sprinting after 274k with a lot elevation completed, that’s completely completely different.”
Remco Evenepoel’s identify inevitably cropped up. Whereas Pogačar is chasing the Triple Crown, the Belgian is searching for to finish a Quadruple of his personal. Evenepoel claimed each gold medals on the Paris 2024 Olympics and he strains up as Pogačar’s probably challenger right here after defending his time trial world title final weekend.
“He seemed tremendous good on the TT, he dealt with the strain fairly good too, with the chain drop on the beginning line and from what I learn he didn’t have energy,” Pogačar mentioned. “The TT is his self-discipline the place he shines the very best, I feel. However Sunday is a special recreation.”
As soon as the press convention formalities had ended, Pogačar moved onto the advertising recreation, exhibiting off the customized Colnago bike he’ll journey on Sunday, the multicoloured paint job designed to showcase his lengthy record of successes. He smiled when it was put to him {that a} rainbow jersey on Sunday can be good enterprise for his bike provider. “All of us make good cash then, eh,” he mentioned.
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