"A cannibal? I eat sweets" - Tadej Pogacar jokingly plays down comparison to 'the Cannibal' after his fifteenth Tour stage win
CyclingSaturday, 20 July 2024 at 11:00
Tadej Pogacar had no mercy with Matteo Jorgenson as he took the stage win on his 'home climb', the Isola 2000. Will his victory counter at this year's Tour de France stop at four, or will he add another either on Col de la Couillole or in Nice?
The Slovenian's hunger for victories already awarded him the 'Cannibal' title among many fans and experts, yet the UAE Team Emirates feels more like a 'Cookie monster', he confesses. "A cannibal? He eats human flesh. I eat sweets at the finish and gels and bars on the bike," Pogacar told Sporza jokingly. "Yes, of course, I know what you mean. But let's not talk about cannibalism. That's not so nice."
Besides, he argued, "With my fourth stage win, I've already balanced things out with last year when I got two. So now I can say I have three stage wins every year." With five Tour de France starts to his name, the 26-year-old Slovenian is currently at 15 stage wins.
"I was here training a lot after the Giro, and I was speaking to my teammates about how we wanted to race this day right up to the point where I attacked," Pogacar explained. "And it went really, 100% perfect."
Last year his preparation was a bit hampered by the wrist fracture at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. "I was riding with the bandage up until the Slovenian National Championships and I was still wearing it at nights during the first week of the Tour," he recounted. "It was a big issue last year. I was not ready physically and mentally for the Tour."
However, this year was different. With no major setbacks, Pogacar headed confidently towards the Giro-Tour double: "Everything since Lombardy last year, in fact, has gone smoothly, so this is the biggest factor in my 2024 success. This year, I'm back to the 'old me' - and still improving," he assured,
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- and Mc Nulty....
maria2024202407-05-2025 - mmmmm... AYUSO, Adam, AYUSO, Mc nulty, AYUSO.... UAE without the clear POgacar leadership could be a mess.... we'll see...maria2024202407-05-2025
- he's the most elegant rider in the peloton, like a dancer.maria2024202407-05-2025
- So the Piddie GC experiment is over. He should have done that long agoabstractengineer07-05-2025
- So 50/50 huh? Not much of a prediction there.awp07-05-2025
- TdF history pretty resoundingly proves that may or may not be correct.itsent07-05-2025
- Stage win onlyabstractengineer07-05-2025
- Maybe she was pushed, she seemed too out of control for fellabstractengineer07-05-2025
- He wins the Vuelta because the best don't show up. With how he rides, he's better for the TdF but not good enough for who showsVeganpotter07-05-2025
- True, but unless Tadej or Jonas fall off their bike or get sick, no one is going to beat them. The 2014 Tour was decided by the Shark of Messina long before Contador or Froome were injured. I miss Nibali.awp07-05-2025
The strongest rider in the race obv wants to win the queen stage of the race. Tadej did it at the giro and at the tour! Hope he keeps up with the trend! Was a treat to watch that giro stage just like this one yesterday!
Cycling at its best !
The strongest rider in the race obv wants to win the queen stage of the race. Tadej did it at the giro and at the tour! Hope he keeps up with the trend! Was a treat to watch that giro stage just like this one yesterday!
Cycling at its best !
I guess I am in the minority but Tadej Pogacar did not have to do what he did in Stage 19. He had enough time to walk to Nice. But he is a show boating jerk who had to show off his abilities and took a stage from someone who had worked all through it.
Well Tadej Karma is watching
Yup. You're in the minority for a reason. It's a race. He's racing. Should he not race? It's not just showboating. There is prize money at stake - which is split between teammates and staff.
Agreed.
Maybe golf is more to your liking.
You are the minority for sure, not hating on you at all but this is racing. People need to leave their feelings at the gate when they pin on their numbers...