When Tadei Pogachar made his opening remarks with 100 km to go in the World Championships in Zurich, Lemko Evenpoel felt it unwise to react immediately. He had no way of knowing at the time, but that is where the discussion ended.

The world championship, which some said was a back-and-forth between Evenpoel and Pogachar, turned into a one-man show. While Pogachar led the pack with his latest solo recital, Evenpoel was part of a discordant chasing group. He eventually finished fifth, 58 seconds behind the Slovenian.

Later, as they drifted through the finish area of the Szekseloitenplatz, the chorus of beaten men played more or less the same note. Initially, none of them expected Pogachar to be able to keep running for so long. There was nothing they could do about it, seeing Pogachar's incredible strength. At least this year.

“I mean, I was sitting next to Mathieu [van der Pol] at the moment he reached the top of the climb. We both thought it was a suicide mission and that everything would go back to normal. But in the end, he had a good day and was as fast as us at the back. If you look at his season, he deserves to be on Rainbow next year."

While Pogachar won the Triple Crown on Sunday afternoon, Evenpoel was racing to chase the historic feat, aiming for a fourth Olympic and World Championship title. [Evenpoel, who won the world title in the time trial last week, led the Belgian team into the race. When Pogachar attacked with 100km to go and tried to catch the breakaway, Evenepoel believed his team had enough to reel in the Slovenian.

“I felt like I had the situation under control, and I told Teessie [teammate Benoot] that it would be great if we could hold it for a minute or 50 seconds,” Evenepoel said of his initial reaction to Pogachar's attack.

“I told him, ‘If I could keep it up for 50 seconds, that would be great,’” Evenepoel said of his initial reaction to Pogachar's attack.

It wasn't. Chasing Pogachar on the demanding finish circuit was too much for the riders supporting Evenpoel. With 70km to go, Pogachar was left alone in a chasing pack that was breaking up. Pogachar's lead never exceeded one minute, but Evenpoel and the other riders never showed any signs of catching up, even though there were still three laps to go.

“As we came back up the steep climb, I could see the racers dropping back. Only Tim [Wellens] and Maxim [van Gils] were left.” I told Maxime, 'Let's get to the top and then we'll start racing again. But I think Taddei had a special day.”

Even though Evenpoel's decision not to join Pogachar's long-distance attack inevitably drew criticism, it is difficult to be critical when the Slovenian himself described his attack as a “foolish move. Evenpoel and Van der Pol must have felt that Pogachar deserved to call their bluff when he danced off the front line early on.

In the supersonic cycling 2020s, the tactical certainties of past generations no longer seem to mean anything. Yet, even by the bewildering standards of this era, it was astonishing that a potential world championship winner launched an attack with 100 km of racing still to go. Even more astonishing was the fact that it succeeded.

“I wouldn't have done anything differently,” Evenpoel said. “I controlled the race with Viktor [Campenaerts], and we went a little faster on the downhills to see what damage we could do.

“I mean, every normal guy would say another 100 km is too far, but I don't think Taddei is normal this year. Like I said, I think he deserves it. For us, I don't think there is anything to be angry or sad about in the race. We gave our maximum effort. [With two laps to go, he gestured his frustration at the American pairing of Matteo Jorgenson and Quinn Simmons over their collaboration.

In the mixed zone, however, Evenepoel stopped at every station to explain the race to reporters in Dutch, French, and English. Although the gap to Pogachar was temporarily reduced to 35 seconds on the final lap, Evenepoel was aware that he was in contention for a medal. In the finale, Ben O'Connor (AUS) took the silver medal, while van der Pol held off Toms Skuzins (LAT) and Evenpoel for the bronze.

“It's a fifth place finish, but I think it's the best sprint I could have done against a guy like Mathieu,” Evenpoel said. I was happy with the medal, but it doesn't change anything in my career. I came here to get the jersey, but Taddeusi was amazing today, so that's all I could do.”

Unlimited access to all coverage of the 2024 UCI Road World Championships. This includes breaking news and analysis from journalists on the ground, including the junior, under-23, and elite time trials and road races. Details.