On Wednesday the world’s best male time trialists will take part in the World Championships elite time trial. Belgium has selected Yves Lampaert and Jurgen Van den Broeck. The time trial course in Richmond is 53 kilometres long. What’s the best possible result?

“Wednesday is kind of the most important day of the last part of the season," Van den Broeck said. "After the federal coach told me I was selected, I started the specific preparation for this race. The result will partly depend on the shape of the day, and that is hard to predict, but I want to aim for the highest possible result I can get. You mainly put pressure on yourself to set a result as good as possible, although I actually have nothing to lose and can only gain something. Nobody wants to fail, and on a good day a lot is possible. I know the course now and it will come down to seconds.

“I rode the Vuelta in function of this time trial, so I couldn’t go full every day in Spain. Apart from the physical aspect it’s mainly important to be mentally fresh, to give all you got during one hour, to search and go across your pain limit. The Belgian time trial championship and the time trial at the Giro gave me confidence, more than the ones in Romandie or Poland, because those were over shorter distances. I want to represent my country as good as possible, a World Championship is always special. You have to get in the right mindset in the morning, get in the zone and just ride towards the goal.”