It was not so much what was said, but how it was said. Neither Tadej Pogačar nor Primoš Roglic are very talkative, and because they used the medium of Zoom Webinar, which has a spotty Internet connection, they were unable to provide detailed answers, but before the world championship road race following their fierce battle at the Tour de France, the two Slovenians showed solidarity.

Pogachar was wearing the yellow jersey he had carried for nearly two weeks when Roglic's music suddenly stopped at La Planche des Belle Filles last Saturday. But some wondered whether the trauma of defeat had been softened or magnified by hearing the national anthem in honor of his countrymen on the Champs-Elysées on Sunday evening.

But by Thursday evening, Roglic and Pogachar were jokingly taking turns in front of their hotel laptops as they answered questions about their prospects for this weekend's World Championships.

The note from the Slovenian Federation emphasized that they only wanted to talk about the upcoming races, but it was impossible to ignore the fact that Pogaczar and Roglic had competed for the top prize in tense circumstances a few days earlier.

"Maybe I'm still recovering a little after the Tour, but I still have a few days left, and I hope to be at my best on Sunday," said Roglic, who did not specify whether the fatigue was mental or physical.

Pogachar, on the other hand, confessed that he has yet to absorb the fact that he won his first Tour attempt. 'My head is a mess this week,' he said. But I think I'm ready for a hard race on Sunday."

Since Puy Marie, or rather since the Pyrenees, the Tour has looked like a prize duel between Roglic and Pogachar. Jumbo-Visma's Roglic was expected to win on points, but was knocked out by Pogachar on the final day. Pogachar, however, insisted that the duo could integrate well in Italy.

"I don't see any problems on Sunday," he said. 'We are a good team and we understand each other. We're a good team and we understand each other.'

When Stéphane Roche won the Tour de France in 1987, he was in Villach later that summer to help Sean Kelly, who had paved the way for him in the professional peloton, win Ireland's first road world title a little over a month later. The objective was to do just that. In a tactical finale, Roche took an unexpected victory as Kelly clamped down on Moreno Argentin at the back of the field.

Unlike Ireland a few years ago, there is no pecking order of leadership in the Slovenian team, and both men clearly have the aptitude to compete for the rainbow jersey on a course with a total climbing distance of approximately 5,000 meters. Pogachar expressed hope that Roglic would become world champion, but did not suggest that he would be the complete leader of the team.

"I know it sounds like a fairy tale, but we have a big competition on Sunday and it's not exactly the Tour de France. Like I said, we have a strong team and we can fight for the rainbow jersey," Pogachar said, suggesting that it could be a "Slovenia versus the world" race: "I think there are many countries that can play a role in winning.

Some of the most promising riders are from the Jumbo Visma team that supported Roglic in the Tour, and Wout Van Aert (Belgium) is considered a serious contender, while Sepp Kuss (USA), Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands), George Bennett (New Zealand) and others will also join Imola.

"They were already really strong in the Tour, but I think all of them have a chance to win the World Championships before the start," said Roglic. "We expect the riders in the Tour to have something a little more in store for us.

Roglic and Pogachar scouted the 28.8-km circuit on Friday morning, but with rain forecast throughout the day in Emilia-Romagna, Sunday's race will be more testing conditions.

"Certainly, the weather will have a big impact on the race, especially with us behind. "Especially since we don't have our [trade] team behind us. I think it will be a very interesting race for the spectators."

Roglic, the 2017 time trial silver medalist, has made little impact in his last three World Championships road race appearances, with his best finish being 34th in Innsbruck two years ago.

This time around, Slovenia will field a full eight-man team, including Jan Polanci, Luka Mejek, and Janez Brajkovic.

"We will find out on Sunday. The most important thing will happen at the end," Roglic said. We have to race what we can at the end. If we have to control it, we will do what we have to do. We just have to see what luck will do, what the weather will do, and what the race will do."

In France, Roglic and Pogachar were stronger than the average powerhouse, and their duel was characterized by skirmishes over bonus seconds. If both finished in a small group, it was impossible to tell who was faster. Roglic was content to let the world guess.