25/05/2023

"It is difficult to imagine that he will be fit for the Tour of Slovenia" - UAE doubt Pogacar will race before Tour de France, but recovery is on track

Tadej Pogacar's recovery is on track for the Tour de France, UAE Team Emirates assure, however the initial time frame of recovery remains the same and that likely involves no competition before reaching the Grand Boucle.

“Everything is going according to plan. Tadej feels good, but you have to be careful with such injuries," team DS Andrej Hauptman told RTV SLO. "Only when everything is back to normal can he train at full strength again. He is still training according to an adapted program.”

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Having suffered several wrist fractures, Pogacar was estimated to be out for five to six weeks. In the first week of June, five weeks after his crash, he will return to the road to ramp up his training. He's remained active whilst also resting from a busy spring over the past few weeks, but whilst several of his riders are putting in serious kilometers at Mount Teide already, the Slovenian is still in need of rollers to get some rhythm in the legs.

“He has done a lot of exercises in the pool and with the physiotherapist. He also runs and does strength exercises. Soon he will be cycling outside for the first time. He will give it a try in the coming days, but it's hard to say anything about it right now. It will all depend on how much pain he still feels. We will do our best to ensure that the first training sessions go as smoothly as possible," he continues.

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It will be a tight schedule with around only one month of preparation for the Tour. Pogacar will focus on training instead of racing. “It is difficult to imagine that he will be fit for the Tour of Slovenia. We will, however, explore stages of the upcoming Tour with Tadej."

It is unknown, but likely that he takes on an altitude camp however unlikely to Tenerife as many of his teammates have been up there for weeks and are to leave soon. It's possible that he will combine some days at altitude in the Alps whilst exploring some of the Tour's main stages. This doesn't come with a sense of urgency however as the Slovenian has shown not to need racing in the legs to show up with dominant form.