Tadej Pogacar is not the man of the moment at the Kigali World Championships but he is the one that everyone has their eyes on. Will he be able to revalidate his title from last year, or suffer an unexpected defeat? Bobbie Traksel weighs in on the interesting debate.
“I think that if you want to be at your best in that time trial, you just need a lot more time trial kilometers, and you have to focus less on those Canadian races. In Canada, the travel and jet lag throw you off your rhythm. Apparently, you can’t compete with that,” the former pro said in the Kop over Kop podcast. “Even if he had done everything right, it’s not certain that he would have become world champion. He would have finished second.”
However this was ultimately not Pogacar’s main goal of the week, and might not have delivered much of a psychological blow if his numbers in training remained high. However, his strong defeat and Primoz Roglic’s uncertain tactics do open space for many to wonder if they can surprise on Sunday.
“There will be a few teams that think ‘hey, because Pogacar was relegated to fourth place last Sunday…’ But theoretically, he is the only man who could become world champion, even on a course like this.”
Credit: Picture: IMAGO
