After Tadej Pogacar's dominant general classification triumph at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, it hasn't taken long for attention to turn to the upcoming Tour de France, where the UAE Team Emirates leader hopes to become the first man since Marco Pantani to complete a Giro/Tour double.
One man who has had as good a view of Pogacar's comprehensive Maglia Rosa victory at the Giro d'Italia as anyone, was the Slovenian's loyal super-domestique and last man in the mountains, Rafal Majka. Although the vastly experienced and always reliable Pole is not expected to be present at the Tour de France later this summer, the 34-year-old is confident his team leader can get back to Maillot Jaune winning ways after a pair of second-placed finishes over the last two seasons.
"We have a strong team for the Tour de France. We have Joao Almeida, we have Juan Ayuso, we have Adam Yates, a lot of good guys," previews Majka in conversation with his former teammate Alberto Contador for Eurosport following the Giro d'Italia's thrilling finale in Rome on Sunday afternoon. Not mentioned by Majka there are also the likes of Nils Politt, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler and Tim Wellens as UAE Team Emirates take a truly all-star lineup in their quest to reclaim the Maillot Jaune.
"Tadej has finished the Giro d'Italia with good condition. He can rest and he should be good for the Tour - in my opinion, even stronger," Majka concludes, even opening the door to a potential Vuelta a Espana appearance for his leader later in the year, should Pogacar claim the Tour. "You never know. It depends from the team, but for me he's a superstar."
In his own, post-stage interview, Pogacar himself expressed confidence about his Tour de France prospects. "If I arrive at the Tour de France with these legs that I have now, I think it's going to be just fine," the Maglia Rosa assessed after the podium ceremonies in Rome. "The most important thing is to recover now."
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