"Burnouts happen, and it could happen to me too" - Tadej Pogacar on mental fatigue, Vingegaard and THE race he wants to win the most

Tadej Pogacar has reached the end of the Tour de France exhausted, both physically and mentally, and this has also led to questions on his longevity in the sport. For the first time the Slovenian began to be asked frequently about this, and he shared concerns over a possible burnout as what he's experienced in these last few days of the Tour.

"At this point in my career, I can stop if that happens to me. No, seriously: burnout is a common occurrence in many sports. Both mentally and physically. As a cyclist, you train a lot, maybe sometimes too obsessively," Pogacar said in a post-race press conference. The fans didn't get to see the thrilled and energetic Pogacar of other years in Paris, as his fourth Tour de France victory as perhaps his most complicated.

The entire race there was only one day in which he said that the peloton took it easy, most likely stage 8 where there was no breakaway on the day and no crosswinds on the menu. The mountainous days, the tense fights in the hills and the frequent difficult weather often made it a mental battle above a physical one.

And for a Tour de France contender, having to deal with sponsor obligations, training camps, strict diets and months of specific preparation towards the Tour, it can be easy to understand how a rider would already begin the race quite tired - Remco Evenepoel admited this was the case with him, adding to the injuries he already carried into the race.

“We always strive for more, so sometimes you see severe fatigue setting in during the season. Meanwhile, the team wants you to keep racing, so you keep going in circles. And then, suddenly, it's October, you have your vacation, and in December, you start all over again. Burnouts happen, and it could happen to me too," the World Champion adds. Pogacar will now take some well-deserved rest, but it is very unlikely that he will be racing the Vuelta a España as originally outlined.

He was asked about his rival Jonas Vingegaard, his only true rival during the Tour, but one who made it a very difficult race in the mountains. “I think Jonas has opened up a bit more. We already saw that in the Critérium du Dauphiné, where we... I won't say we had nice conversations, because that sounds strange, but we did have conversations. I have to say that I think he's a great guy and I enjoy competing against him.”

In words to L'Équipe, he has opened up about one particular race which seems to have become his main point of focus, having tried it this year for the first time and come close to victory. "I still have goals between now and the end of the season, but not many races left."

"Then I'm going to take a break, enjoy the rest period, and think about preparing for the next one. Especially Paris-Roubaix, which I want to win. This year, for my first participation, I found this race crazy; my second place was already incredible. I want to come back."