"He can destroy us all here": Evenepoel warns about Van der Poel before the World Championship

Remco Evenepoel accepts arriving as one of the top favorites for the World Championship in Montreal, but he does not consider the race to be under his control by any means. Two days before the men's Elite event, the Belgian has particularly pointed out Mathieu van der Poel and has made one of the most striking statements in the lead-up.

Evenepoel is wary of Van der Poel: "He can destroy us all here"

Remco Evenepoel arrives on Sunday with enough arguments to accept the role of favorite. His victory in the GP of Quebec and, above all, his fourth consecutive world title in the time trial confirm that he is in great shape. When directly asked about it, he did not want to hide this time either.

"Based on the results of my recent races, probably yes", he acknowledged about his status as a favorite in statements collected by the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

"In May it was a different story. Well, I accept your question. Am I the favorite? I would say yes".

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But one thing is to assume that role and another very different to consider that the World Championship is already decided. Among all his rivals, Evenepoel has particularly focused on Mathieu van der Poel.

"For me, he has a lot of chances to win. We also saw it in Zurich. On this course, I give him more or less the same chances".

Van der Poel was third in that World Championship in Zurich 2024, held on a course with more elevation than what he will find this Sunday. And when Evenepoel was reminded that the Dutchman had only finished third there, the Belgian was even clearer.

"Mathieu is one of the super talents of this sport. On an exceptional day, with golden legs, he can destroy us all here".

This assessment largely coincides with what Van der Poel himself has explained before the World Championship. The Dutchman acknowledges that the characteristics of Montreal are close to his limit due to the length of the climbs, but he has also pointed out that his great asset appears precisely when the race accumulates many hours and fatigue: "After a tough race, I can still push my watts".

Belgium does not want to bear all the weight of the race

The presence of Van der Poel is also one of the reasons why Evenepoel does not want Belgium to control the World Championship too early.

The Belgian team has two very different cards, Evenepoel and Wout van Aert, and their strategy has become one of the major issues before the race. While the course seems to allow Evenepoel to wait longer, Van Aert might need to anticipate before the climbers turn the final laps into a series of accelerations.

Evenepoel also does not believe that Belgium should be responsible for continuously hardening the race.

"I don't think so. Both Wout and I can reach the finish in a small group. In Wout's case, it could even be a slightly larger group".

For the Belgian champion, France may have more need to break the race thinking about Paul Seixas.

"If I think about who really needs to arrive alone, I end up in France. Paul Seixas will probably have to do it. So the pressure is on France. We can use it tactically. Certainly, we don't have to work all the time".

Evenepoel also expects relatively early French movements. He also places Isaac Del Toro among the riders who will likely try to avoid a sprint finish.

"Paul and Isaac Del Toro won't want to take me to the sprint, just as I don't want to take Van der Poel to the finish".

Evenepoel also trusts his sprint more

This last detail opens a possibility that seemed less favorable for Evenepoel a few years ago. The Belgian claims that his speed has improved and that he no longer necessarily needs to get rid of all his rivals before the final meters. "My sprint has improved a lot in the last two years".

Evenepoel cites the recent GP of Montreal as an example, where he finished fifth after resolving the sprint of his group.

"That gives me more confidence in a final. I can read the race a bit more from the back. The same goes for Wout".

All of this increases the tactical possibilities of a Belgian selection that will have to decide how to combine its two leaders. Evenepoel believes that the Montreal course suits him better than Van Aert, mainly due to the accumulation of elevation, but he does not rule out his teammate either.

"If you only look at the course, it suits me better. But Wout is one of the great talents of his generation. On an exceptional day, he can do great things and go very far here too".

The problem will be the 273.7 kilometers and 3,803 meters of positive elevation, with 12 laps of the Mont-Royal circuit and the climb to Camillien-Houde, 1.6 kilometers at 7.4%, repeating until well into the final. Here you can check all the schedules, dates, and options to watch the Montreal World Championship 2026.

Belgium has held several tactical meetings, although Evenepoel acknowledges that establishing a closed script for the final laps makes little sense.

"Something unexpected always happens, and suddenly you end up precisely in the only scenario you hadn't talked about".

Therefore, the prior work has mainly focused on the middle part of the race, before the favorites start racing directly against each other.

"In the end, the legs will speak anyway".

And among all those legs, Evenepoel is clear about which ones he does not want to underestimate. Van der Poel may not have the ideal course for his characteristics in Montreal, but the Belgian knows that if he arrives with strength at the decisive moment, any prior plan may become irrelevant.