"If I arrive at the Tour de France with these legs, it's going to be fine" - Tadej Pogacar heading to Tour full of confidence after Giro d'Italia domination
Cycling
There was no doubting who was the strongest at the 2024 Giro d'Italia as Tadej Pogacar thundered to a comprehensive domination of the general classification, taking the Maglia Rosa by a touch short of ten minutes. Can the UAE Team Emirates leader carry this form into the Tour de France?
That remains a big question. With the Giro d'Italia pretty much secured for a while, many experts and analysts were questioning why the Slovenian wasn't saving himself for the upcoming Tour de France as Pogacar intends to do something the likes of Alberto Contador and Chris Froome failed to do in their peak and become the first man to complete a Giro d'Italia/Tour de France double since Marco Pantani back in 1998.
"I was out of words that I could be here in front of the Colosseum in Rome, lifting the trophy alongside Dani Martinez and Geraint Thomas," Pogacar reflected in conversation with Eurosport following the post-race podium ceremony. "It's been a fantastic ride throughout the three weeks. I'm really happy to be alive at this time and doing cycling."
With the Tour de France less than a month away however, will Pogacar allow himself some time to enjoy this success? "I think now one week a bit easier, maybe enjoy some coffee rides and some good cake," he assesses with a smile. "Then go to altitude and push a little bit on the pedals, try to increase the level, if it's possible. 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 most important thing is to recover now."
With the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic making their return from injury at the Criterium du Dauphine and Pogacar's main rival, Jonas Vingegaard still unsure of a Tour de France appearance following injury, Pogacar will start the race for the Maillot Jaune as favourite next month.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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A dream come true. Thanks to everybody who made it possible. Grazie Mille Italia❤️
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