05/09/2023

"I wasn’t ready for all three weeks of racing" - Tadej Pogacar blames wrist fracture for Tour de France breakdown

Tadej Pogacar has ended a busy block of racing at the World Championships and took up much deserved rest. As he builds his form back up towards Il Lombardia he's spoken to Italian media, and has talked about how his wrist fracture derailed part of his season and prevented it from being 'perfect'.

“Il Lombardia is the motivation I need to train for the final races and end my season on a high," Pogacar said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. "I’ve always loved the end of season Italian Classics." Pogacar is set to race the Giro dell' Emilia and Tre Valle Varesine at least, with the final monument of the season in mind - where he can win the third edition in a row.

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However he looks back at what he got from the season. He says he's happy with it, but there was a pebble in his shoe. "I’d rather keep what I achieved. There’s only one thing I’d change: my crash at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Without my fractured wrist, my season would have been perfect," he argues. Although he recovered and in great speed, the crash affected his Tour de France preparation, and eventually in the final week of the race a bad day on the Col de la Loze brought it all down.

“At first I didn’t think the crash and fracture was that important but now, looking back at my Tour preparation, it had an impact. I had to change things compared to previous years. I started the Tour in great form but I wasn’t ready for all three weeks of racing," he admits.

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Although he showed himself at a level high enough to win for 20 days, it took only one stage to lose several minutes to Jonas Vingegaard, whereas in other stages the differences were only of seconds.

“I’ve learnt a lot this year. It’s from things like an injury that you learn for the future. There was also one thing I already knew: Your health is the most important thing of all. In life and as a high-level athlete," he concludes.