There is probably no bigger name in the entire cycling world right now, than UAE Team Emirates leader Tadej Pogacar. No one knows the Slovenian better than his partner, Urska Zigart and the Liv AlUla Jayco rider has opened up on Pogacar's personality away from the bike.
"For me he is just Tadej," Zigart says in conversation with Sporza. "I think he is one of the best cyclists in the world. If not the best. But at home he's just a normal guy who does his own laundry and makes dinner. He was just making his own race meal for the start. He's just a normal guy. Even after all his successes. He's just Tadej."
Despite Pogacar's immense success over recent seasons and especially in 2024, where both the Maglia Rosa of the Giro d'Italia and the Maillot Jaune of the Tour de France has gone home with the 25-year-old superstar, along with six stages of each Grand Tour to boot, Zigart insists success and fame have not changed Pogacar. "He hasn't changed since I first met him," Zigart explains. "He's someone who pushes hard on the pedals, he stirs up so many emotions in so many people around the world. But for me, he doesn't have to do anything to be special."
"We are very close and we do the same thing. We know exactly what the other needs because we experience it together. And when our careers are over, I don't think our lives will be normal again, because it has never been normal," Zigart continues. "And then maybe we will start a family. Or maybe start a business. Maybe I will continue studying law."
With starting a family of course comes children. Could the next generation's star of the peloton come from the genes of the ultra talented Pogacar and Zigart? "We will let our children decide for themselves what they want to do," Zigart says without pressuring. "But if they do decide to become a cyclist, then we will happily follow them in a mobile home in the Tour."
Despite Pogacar coming off as an uber confident rider though, Zigart insists even the great Slovenian himself has worries and self doubt at times. "Last year he doubted himself a little bit. Tadej also had a bad fall at 70 km/h. He sat on the road for five minutes because he didn't know what had happened. He wasn't sure of himself last year," she recalls. "There are other things he doubts himself about. I once beat him at pool. I also beat him at darts. But he's gotten a lot better at that now."
With both Pogacar and Zigart absent from the Slovenian lineup for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, there will be plenty of chance for the couple to spend some rare quality time together in the coming weeks.
🇸🇮 Tadej Pogacar about missing #Paris2024 🗣️ "Zigart's non-selection is not the main reason, but for sure it didn't help. I think she deserves her spot. She did great in the last 2 years winning points for Slovenia and, without her, they wouldn't have 2 spots in the road race."…
