Merckx, 81, won the road world title in 1974, his third victory in the event. Fifty-two years later, he sees Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert as Belgium’s main options for another gold. Evenepoel won the world road race in 2022 and finished second last year; Van Aert took silver at the 2020 championships in Imola.
Evenepoel arrives after winning the world time-trial title last Sunday. Van Aert has also had a strong Vuelta a España, winning two stages and the points classification. Merckx told Belgian broadcaster RTBF that the pair give the team two major assets, and said Belgium could have roughly a one-in-two chance of producing the champion.
The absence of Pogačar, the two-time defending champion, is central to that assessment. Merckx said Belgium would have been racing for second place if the Slovenian were on the start line. But without him, the Belgians are likely to carry more of the expectation and may have to control the race.
Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands, France’s Paul Seixas and Mexico’s Isaac del Toro are among the rivals Merckx identified. Del Toro had recently won the GP Montreal, while Merckx warned that the list of challengers extends beyond those leading names.
Merckx also offered a tactical view: if a Belgian enters an early breakaway, he should not help drive it. The championship race is still ahead; his confidence is a forecast, not a result.