It has not even been one week since🍷 Remcoꦦ Evenepoel secured a landmark Vuelta a España victory but on Friday evening, as he sat in a room full of Belgian journalists just north of Wollongong, he didn’t look like a rider who had just added a long flight and the inevitable jet-lag that comes with it to a tortuous - albeit stunningly successful - three weeks.
168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Evenepoel may have shown just a hint of fatigue as he shared the stage with Tour de France stage 1 winner Yves Lampaert to discuss the individual time trial at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:UCI Road World Championships, but it gave way to animated laughing.
The jokes perhaps involved riders becoming prey to an Australian Magpie, a bird notorious for swooping riders in spring whe🔯n they are protecting their young. The tone was more tempered when it came to discussing the challenges of Sunday's course and rivals, but ultimately it was a media conference that was anything but short and perfunctory.
The 22-year-old QuickStep-AlphaVinyl rider hadn’t returned home after his victory, instead coming straight to Au🉐stralia, but he wasn’t leaving the attention of the media from his home nation behind. A healthy contingent of Belgian press had also taken the long flight to Australia and this was their reward; they were making the most ꦡof the opportunity to get time with the first Belgian Grand Tour winner since 1978 and Evenepoel seemed happy to oblige.
He w🐟asn't brushing aside that the racing and journey had taken a toll, but said a calm four days had done him good.
"I knew in advance that it was going to be this way. I was mentally ready forꩵ that," Evenepoel said.
"Racing a World Championships fo⛄r your own country, you don't just let that go. It is also always said that after a Grand Tour you find magical legs and push𝔍 a bigger gear. I hope so.
"We already planned three months ago how we would fill in this week. This is the best possible recovery week. It was a good decision to come here as soon as possible af🉐ter the Vuelta, both for my body and for the Championships, although I will also be happy when I can let go of everything after the Worlds."
The focus is on the time trial for now, and a course that is far from typical. Not only is the elite men’s course considerably shorter than usual at 34.2km, but it is a technical circuit with around 30 corners for each of its two laps, with the bends coming early ⛦before the course opens up into a smoother section along the coast.
Still, it is a course that Evenepoel is going i♐nto with a degree of confidenc⛄e.
“I am very happy with the consistency that I show in my time trials this year,” he said. "My worst performance was second place. If I can r🍒epeat that on Sunday, that would be very good.
"Everything will ཧdepend on the form of the day. On that front, I'm pretty confident. What I felt today in training was pretty good. Anyway, there is no more pressure for me. My season is already a success."
Despite the breakout season as a Grand Tour champion, Evenepoe𝔍l still has ample drive to add a rainbow jersey to his palmarès.
"Of course I would prefer to win - let there be no misunderstanding about that. I worked very hard on my time trial this year. Then you also start here with ambitions. But whether I fin🐬ish second or 10th here, that won't change anything about my season."
