‘We’re not making deals with other teams’ – Remco Evenepoel ready for Tadej Pogačar duel at Worlds

There will be 200 riders on the start line in Winterthur on Sunday morning, but the build-up to the elite men’s road race at these Road World Championships has coalesced around two names. Even in a field of this depth, it will be classed as something of a surprise if neither Remco Evenepoel nor Tadej Pogačar claims the rainbow jersey on Zurich’s Sechseläutenplatz on Sunday afternoon.

Evenepoel already has some rainbow bands to show for his Swiss sojourn, having collected a second consecutive time trial title last weekend. Pogačar only arrived in Switzerland in midweek, and on Thursday evening he matter-of-factly noted that the road race would be “a different game” to the time trial claimed by Evenepoel.