Given that Tadej Pogačar had already said that it wasn't a shock that Remco Evenepoel was making his debut at the Tour of Flanders, then it wasn't a surprise to hear that the Slovenian has already thought about just how he could impact the racing on Sunday.
Sitting down to speak with international media on Friday, Evenepoel's name was commonplace among the questions posed to Pogačar, who was his typically calm and casual self, noting the threat of the Belgian and the unpredictability which his participation brings.
Evenepoel on debut will be somewhat of a wildcard for the 280km Monument, with Pogačar admitting how he can't be certain when the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider might try to make his mark on De Ronde. It's safe to say the road World Champion will be on red alert for each and every time the Olympic Champion threatens an attack.
"With Remco, you never know where he can go now, and he can attack in the most random places," said Pogačar to gathered media, including Cyclingnews.
"You need to be also ready for that, and you can never let him go in front with a couple of seconds, because it's almost impossible to catch him back because he's so fast. I think Remco can attack on the flattest section of the race, and he can make a gap; then it's difficult to bring him back."
Pogačar reiterated the point that he and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates simply can't afford to allow Evenepoel to attack away solo – if they can stop it – with any sort of hesitation behind likely to give the three-time ITT World Champion a huge advantage.
"I think from my side, it's good to have a rider like Remco always wanting to go from far racing hard to from far to finish, and always on the attack," said the Slovenian.
"He always goes for the win no matter what, and he can do a really great race on Sunday. I think he's in good shape, definitely a rider to look for, for his long-range attacks, and yeah, [let's] just not let him out of sight."
Evenepoel offers a different proposition to Pogačar's other main rivals for Sunday, notably Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), as he has the potential to match his climbing level, but also is the most dangerous of the top favourites when it comes to a late solo move or anticipating.
Asked if Evenepoel's attacking was something he feared or he liked, Pogačar was typically jovial and said, "I mean, if I look at the race on the TV, I like it. But if I'm in the race and you're in a bad moment and not in the position, then I don't like it. It's just, it's always simple.
"He likes to attack. He's unpredictable sometimes, also, it's his first time here in Flanders, so for sure, it's another stress factor in the race."
Pogačar has, of course, been watching the racing build-ups to Sunday's big event, and addressed the fact that E3, In Flanders Fields and Dwars door Vlaanderen presented three examples of attacking moves by the biggest riders either reeled back in or only just survived.
Van der Poel narrowly held on to win the former as the group behind failed to cooperate, before he and Van Aert were caught by a solo Alec Segaert (Bahrain-Victorious) and then the bunch sprint in the final kilometres of the second, and Van Aert had his heart broken by a late overtake from Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) at the latter on Wednesday.
"I think now that the teams maybe finally realised that if somebody attacks 60km to go, there is still time to reorganise themselves in the back," said Pogačar. "And if you work together and you're not just attacking each other over the climbs, there is more chance to catch the guy in the lead.
"I think that's what happened at [In Flanders Fields] or Dwars as well. There was more of a big group in the back that could cooperate, and it was interesting to watch, definitely, and made some exciting time in front of TV for myself."
Whether the same can happen in Flanders behind likely him getting away on the front – as has been the case in his past two appearances – Pogačar of course noted how it was more difficult, given the race difficulty and how the final climb is closer to the finish in Oudenaarde.
"It's possible, it's possible, but also Flanders is a very different race. It's way longer and more demanding," he said.
"So it depends on how you race it, but we will see, and I don't bother too much. I'm not saying that I want to attack every race 50km or 60km to go. Maybe we'll see."
Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.
