Tobias Foss earns rainbow jersey with ‘perfectly executed’ race
Tobias Foss mentioned a superbly executed race was behind his shock gold medal within the highway biking world championships time trial on Sunday, even when he couldn’t fairly consider what he had achieved in claiming the rainbow jersey.
The Norwegian, whose earlier most excessive profile win was on the Tour de l’Avenir in 2019, mentioned his expectations had not been excessive earlier than he took on the world’s finest riders within the Australian metropolis of Wollongong.
“I have to say, if I were top 10 today, I would be really, really satisfied, top five I was hoping for,” Foss mentioned.
“To wear that jersey will be really, really special. I will try to honour it a best I can, and I will try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
Tobias Foss of Norway, heart, poses with Switzerland’s Stefan Kung, left, and Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel after the boys’s elite particular person time trial on the world highway biking championships in Wollongong, Australia, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. Foss, gained gold, King silver and the bronze goes to Evenepoel. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Foss will likely be solely the second Norwegian to put on a rainbow jersey gained in an elite race after Thor Hushovd, who triumphed within the highway race at Geelong in 2010 the final time the championships have been held in Australia.
The 25-year-old mentioned the 34.2-km Wollongong course, which featured 24 corners on every of the 2 laps of a circuit across the suburbs and up into the coastal hills of the town, had suited him.
“There was no real time to rest or to put down the power, you had to be really technical and push through the corners,” he added.
“It was actually about utilizing the terrain and going laborious the place the gradients have been a bit steeper and taking a relaxation the place it went a bit sooner.
Tobias Foss of Norway competes within the males’s elite particular person time trial on the world highway biking championships in Wollongong, Australia, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
“I had really good coaching and we prepared really well and so it was a perfectly executed race.”
Foss was the thirty ninth of the 50 riders to exit, which left him with a protracted wait because the likes of twice Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar, Vuelta a Espana winner Remco Evenepoel and double defending champion Filippo Ganna accomplished the course.
“I wouldn’t say I’m the guy with the most confidence, I really didn’t believe it until it was over,” mentioned Foss.
“I put everything out there today, I couldn’t have done anything better. I had to be satisfied and then the other guys had to do their race. But man, this is unbelievable.”