On Thursday evening, the press corps of the Road World Championships gathered in the town of Cham, 30 km south of Zurich on the northern shore of Lake Zug. Generations ago, the pilgrimage was reserved only for spectators from traditional powerhouses like Italy and Belgium, but in the 2020s, the landscape of cycling has changed.

The latest epicenter is Slovenia. Tadej Pogaczal and Primoš Roglic are proving it. And on Sunday, all eyes will be on Pogachar, who will be riding like Eddy Merckx and Stéphane Roche after winning the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, and the World Championships.

Upon arriving at the Slovenian base at the OYM Center, a multi-sport complex outside Cham, journalists were ushered into a banked auditorium to await the arrival of Pogačar and Roglic. Before the press conference began, the center's founder, Dr. Hans Peter Streber, gave a vague infomercial about his business.

As with Imola in 2020, the coexistence of Roglic and Pogachar in the Slovenian team has been the subject of some intrigue ahead of the race. But like the pre-race videoconference webinar in Italy four years ago, on Thursday evening they showed nothing but friendliness toward each other during the 30-minute press conference, speaking first in Slovenian and then in English, smiling and shrugging their shoulders.

This week, in an interview with national broadcaster RTV Slovenija, Roglic said he had “nothing to lose” in Sunday's race, adding, “There are not 10 world championships ahead.” On Thursday evening, however, Roglic readily admitted that one-day racing is an area better suited to his compatriots than to himself.

“If you look at me and Tadej, he wins all the one-day races. Myself, I only race a couple of times a year. It's a good challenge.” On paper we have a strong team name, but I prefer strength on the road. That's what's important."

Asked what would happen if he and Pogachar were alone in the finale, Roglic shrugged his shoulders in a playful manner. One of us would come in first and one of us would come in second,” he said. We'd play the game."

Pogaczal smiled as he held the microphone: “Yes, rock-paper-scissors, the usual rules.”

Pogaczal, representing Slovenia, smiled as he held the microphone.

Slovenia will be without Matej Mohoric, who withdrew from the race this week with a wrist injury, but their superpower status was underscored by the fact that they fielded a full eight riders in Sunday's race. While Roglic is a dangerous outsider, albeit one who struggled in last weekend's time trial, Pogachar is certainly the alpha and omega of national coach Uroš Maan's world championship plans.

“The rainbow jersey is really special in cycling, it's the most unique jersey. I think everyone wants one. It's something you wear all year round and it proves that you are the best rider in the world. It's been a big goal of mine for the last few years. I'm going to work hard for it this year, and if I don't achieve it, I'm going to do it in the next couple of years.”

Pogachar has competed in the World Championships in all five seasons, but his record is curiously poor. Before winning bronze in Glasgow last year, it was in Imola that he made his biggest impression at the event.

“Last year's Glasgow was one of the hardest races I've ever done,” he said. “The last three hours were explosive and I was exhausted after the race. I think I can do a better race this year. 0]

Pogachar was running out of gas before the Glasgow World Championships. He arrived in Scotland after crashing in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and losing to Jonas Vingegaard.

In contrast, 2024 was a year in which Pogachar's attempts failed at every turn. The closest he came to a setback was the Milan-San Remo in March, which was again out of reach. Since then, he has won the Giro-Tour double for the first time since 1998, with six stage victories in each race.

Pogachar's last win before the World Cup was an ominous solo victory at the Grand Prix de Montreal. This race, with the same elevation gain as Sunday's main event, is a 274-km race that concludes with seven laps of the 27-km Zurich circuit.

“It's a tricky course. None of the climbs are very long, but you don't go straight down after each climb, so there isn't much time to recover,” Pogachar said.

“It's a good course because there's a lot of room for long-distance attacks and for making the race more difficult.

“I don't know if the first hard climb [Zurich-Bergstrasse] is tough enough to make a difference. But in the end I think the length and difficulty of the race will make the difference.”

Pogachar warned not to count out defending champion Mathieu van der Pol (NL) on this rugged course: “Sprinting 274 km of elevation gain is totally different.”

Remco Evenpoel's name inevitably surfaced as well. While Pogachar is looking for a triple crown, the Belgian is looking for his own quadruple crown, and Evenpoel, who won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, will be Pogachar's most likely challenger after he defended his time trial world title last weekend.

“He rode very well in the TT. His chain came off at the start line, but he handled the pressure well. I think the TT is where he shines the most. But Sunday will be a different game.”

Once the press conference formalities were over, Pogachar moved on to the marketing game, showing off the custom Colnago bike he will ride on Sunday. He smiled when told that Sunday's rainbow jersey would be good business for his bike supplier. 'Then we'll all make money,' he said.”

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