"He has recovered very well, both mentally and physically. He's recharged his batteries and has the motivation for the World Championships after doing the Grand Tours. He's ready to take on that responsibility and he's been working hard. His numbers are similar to the Giro and the Tour, but he's just got the competition back in his legs," the Spaniard said.
He has followed the same recovery process he followed between the Giro and the Tour:
"After the Giro, he recovered and the same thing happened after the Tour de France. He's in perfect condition after the Tour and similar to how he was at the beginning or the end of the Tour, so he's in a good situation because the training has been perfect. He's in a good moment. Now it's about maintaining that condition for September 29, when it's the World Championships."
He is highly motivated and always thinking about victory. It is clear that his goal is to win in Zurich at the end of the month:
"Tadej is an animal, a competition animal. You saw his motivation yesterday in Canada, and he appreciated all the work of his team. He's focused on victory and he attacked with two laps to go. A rider of his level needs the rainbow jersey. He hasn't really had that opportunity yet, maybe in Imola when he was working more with Roglič, but he hasn't had a World Championship that suits his characteristics yet. This is a tough World Championship, and then the next three years will give him more opportunities. In my opinion, he deserves to wear the rainbow jersey for a year."
No to the Vuelta, among other things because the World Championship was always marked as one of his major objectives for the year:
"The World Championships were always on his calendar. After the Tour de France, 95% of the questions from journalists were about why he didn't race the Vuelta a España. It was the same with most of the questions, but in this case, it was clear because it didn't make sense to start three Grand Tours and he makes history in every race he starts. He makes history every year. It was important to focus on the World Championships after the Tour de France, which meant taking time to recover."