Mathieu Van der Pol knows the genre inside and out, but even he couldn't believe it when he witnessed Tadej Pogachar's solo dominating victory at the Road World Championships in Zurich.

Arriving in the press room on Sunday evening, Van der Pol could only smile at the question. It was a different impression from Pogachar's solo run to win the rainbow jersey in Glasgow last year.

“I was a little slower than Pogachar ...... It's hard to describe his strength,” Van der Pol said.

Buoyed by his strong showing in the Tour of Luxembourg, Van der Poel arrived in Vetsikon, the home of the World Championships, and was in a particularly upbeat mood during the week. He knew that Pogachar and Lemko Evenpoel were the favorites, but he was filled with a quiet confidence that he could defend his title.

Van der Pol's approach must have led him to that thought when Pogachar went on the offensive with 100 km to go. At that moment, Van der Pol was next to his training partner Even Paul.

“I could see him going, but my plan was to conserve as much energy as possible. At the World Championships, it's important to save your energy, and I did.” When Belgium took the lead, I really thought they were going to keep it close. When Belgium took the initiative, I really thought they were going to come close.

“If you ask Tadej, I don't think that attack was his plan either. He was really strong. But when he went there, when Belgium was in control, I didn't think he would succeed.

“I thought he had thrown away his chance to win the world champion's jersey. I thought it was like a panic attack, but he was so strong he was able to finish."

After a successful break with Slovenian teammate Jan Tratnik, Pogachar escaped with Pavel Sivakov (France) of UAE Team Emirates. Pogachar rode the final 52 km alone, while Van der Pol formed a select but not fully cohesive chase group with Evenpol.

On the final lap, as Pogachar's lead began to narrow, the chase group briefly had a heart-to-heart, but he pulled away again in the last 15 km, forcing Van der Pol and others into a battle for second place. Ben O'Connor (AUS) took the silver medal, while van der Pol won bronze ahead of Toms Skuzins (Latvia), Evenpole, and Marc Hirschi (SWE).

“I think the smallest gap shown on the board was 36 seconds. I thought Tadej was running out of steam a little bit, but the next difference was 45 seconds, so I noticed he was accelerating again.

“It was the best run I have ever had. There was one rider who was special but apart from him I was almost riding for the world title.

Van der Pol's level of performance in this company and on this terrain will inevitably lead to speculation about his future prospects in races like Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia. He has already finished third in Liège this year, but that race came at the end of a long classic campaign centered around the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

“Sure, I looked around and saw only climbers in the same group. 'But one-day races are always different. Flanders and Roubaix are where my heart is and I don't want to give up. Flanders and Roubaix are my heart and I don't want to give up.

In fact, Van der Pol denied reports that he would compete in Il Lombardia in two weeks.

“I don't know where this information came from,” he said. I only run gravel next week.”

After recovering from his sprint on the shores of Lake Zurich, Van der Pol turned to the scrum surrounding Pogachar and congratulated the man who had stripped him of the rainbow jersey. When asked, he smiled.

“I told him he was crazy. I've known him for a long time now and we're very close,” Van der Pol said. It's nice for me to see the best rider become world champion. It's good for him to wear the jersey.”

In last year's Tour de Flanders, Van der Pol put in the best performance of his career but lost second place to the unassailable Pogachar. That evening in Oudenaarde, he accepted defeat with grace, admitting that in a race known as the “Pogachard era,” such disappointment was simply a reality.

Asked how long that era would last, Van der Pol simply looked resigned.

“I don't know, but it looks like it's just beginning,” he said. He's stronger than ever.”

On Sunday's evidence, who could argue?

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