Is Tadej Pogacar even stronger than at the Giro d'Italia? "To be honest, I have never felt so good on the bike"

Tadej Pogacar is arguably having his best season thus far but it can get even better, and actually reach historic levels at the Tour de France. The Slovenian, 25 years of age, has launched a big psychological attack ahead of the race as he claims to be in his best ever form ahead of the Grand Depart.

“Winning the Giro d’Italia was an incredible experience, one that I will always cherish. It meant a lot to me as it was my first time at the Giro. To win in the way we did, it was one of my biggest wins so far," Pogacar shared in an interview conducted by UAE Team Emirates. "I was happy I got to celebrate with the team, they were with me for the three weeks and the training camps before. They mean a lot to me, we’re like a family and it was a special moment with them. I really enjoyed it, it was incredible!”

He details how he rested and enjoyed his time following the triumph at the Giro, in which he won with almost 10 minutes of lead over the closest competitor Daniel Martínez. “After the Giro I relaxed a little bit and ate some good food, but I had some stuff to do around home, so I was back in Monaco quite soon after the Giro ready to slowly get ready for the Tour. I was actually quite eager to get back on the bike when I got home. The first week I did a few days of easy riding to the coffee shop and back to home. It was nice. I then started to feel good quite quickly and did some good training soon after the Giro.”

UAE Team Emirates will enter the Tour with a very strong lineup including Tour de Suisse first and second placed riders Adam Yates and João Almeida, also coming in with great form. Juan Ayuso is also making his debut in the Grand Boucle likely with high ambitions; whilst the remaining four support riders are all of high quality for all types of terrains.

“It’s really important to switch off from time to time. The mental recovery is really important as is the physical recovery. You need to find the balance, and sometimes you just need to be off the bike. I like to switch off by hanging out at home with friends and I also like to go for ice cream or a nice dinner. After the Giro I watched a lot of good series, the time was passing quickly, and I was then refreshed and ready to prepare for the Tour.”

The start of the race will not be far from his home in Monaco, and after a lengthy training camp in Isola 2000 - where stage 19 will finish - the Slovenian feels ready to try and win the Tour once again. “I’m really looking forward to the start of the Tour, I think it’s going to be a special start for me because I won the Giro, and the Tour starts in Italy, so I think it’s going to be amazing! It’s looked like I’ve made a step forward since the Giro, and my shape is even better than what I expected. I’ve done some good training, and I’ve tested my legs a little bit and to be honest, I have never felt so good on the bike. I’m really looking forward to seeing if I have improved in the race situations from the Giro, but I feel good so I cannot complain!”

“Last year was totally different because of the injury. No one prepares like that for the Tour if they’re not injured and so many things around me didn’t go well after the crash in Liege," he says of 2023. "I saw who was there to help me and who wasn’t. There was some disappointment and negative energy around, and it all built up to the Tour de France – I wasn’t 100% confident."

"There was going to be a moment where it all built up and I was going to crack and it was probably the ITT at Combloux, after that time trial I completely shut down, there was no coming back". On the following day, Pogacar cracked on the Col de la Loze completely, losing several minutes to Jonas Vingegaard which took him out of the fight for victory. "Also, after the Tour I had the world championships, nothing went right for me, and I had a tough moment. Luckily, I could recover and finish the season well. This year I also did the Giro, so it is again a different preparation from previous Tour de France races – more or less you need to train and recover, push on the big training days and recover on the easy days.”

“I mean, at the Giro it worked well, so we can see. I cannot speak too much about it. The first two days are quite hard, especially with the second day with the San Luca climb," he teases. "I think there’s going to be some indicator of who is where and then we can decide after these two stages how to approach the next days”