"It would be a dream to win the Tour like Tadej" - Urska Zigart

Being a cyclist is a difficult life in terms of time with your loved ones, and so often pro riders find comfort in each other. Perhaps the most known couple in the sport, Tadej Pogacar and Urska Zigart, is detailed in words by the AG Insurance - Soudal Team rider who starts the Tour de France Femmes rider.

"It's not always easy to see each other, because we both have busy lives. Especially at the beginning of the year, it was really tough at times. It was a blessing in disguise that I got sick just before the Vuelta a España, because that allowed Tadej and me to be together for ten days," Zigart said in an interview with De Telegraaf. "I won't deny that it's tough sometimes, but every couple has to make compromises to see each other. That applies to us too. When we're done racing in a few years, we can make up for all the lost time together."

The Slovenians live together in Monaco but the truth is that adding to Zigart's busy schedule, growing every year due to her evolution in the sport, Pogacar spends quite a lot of time away from home taking into consideration the racing and training camps that leave only small spaces of days throughout the season to be together. Zigart has herself made the trip to the Tour this year on stage 16, a finale close to home, but had a lot of issues managing to get herself to the top of a Mont Ventoux where the police didn't let her through.

"People often think I get special treatment, but that's not true. The police in France don't know who I am, and I received a lot of criticism when I cycled up Mont Ventoux. And I don't want to pretend I'm Tadej's girlfriend I told them I'm a professional too, but they didn't believe me. How I got to the top is a story for my book," she laughs, detailing how a UAE soigneur missed her and she couldn't cycle up the mountain, but instead had to walk a long way through the rocks and crowds until finding the team staff to then be taken to the top.

“I don't come from a cycling family. When I was 17, I threw myself into this sport, and after two years, I met Tadej. How has he helped me grow as a cyclist? Tadej believes in me and shares his experiences. He knows what I'm capable of and tells me to believe in myself," Zigart details. "If things don't go my way one day, Tadej is always the first to say that life doesn't always go the way you want, but you never know what will happen tomorrow.”

The busy schedules actually means the two have been fiancées for several years now, but haven't yet gotten married and don't have a date set. "No, and if we did, I wouldn't tell you, haha. It's difficult to plan with our schedules. If things calm down a bit and we find the time, it'll be a great day. But we've felt like a married couple for years now."

Zigart however has growing expectations and responsibilities on her shoulders, coming into the Tour's Grand Depart in Bretagne with the possibility of a Top10 finish after she achieved this at the Giro Donne, but also a potential supporting role for Sarah Gigante who finished on the podium with a stellar race in the mountains - who can potentially be one of Demi Vollering's biggest rivals in this race.

"Now that there's a women's edition in addition to the men's Tour, girls also dream of riding it, wearing the yellow jersey, and winning a stage. If there's a chance, I would love to wear that jersey for a day," she admits. "I know what it means from Tadej and my own experiences with him. If everything comes together for me, it would be a dream to win the Tour like Tadej, but that's a very difficult dream to realize. Maybe I can get a good result next year; then the Tour de Femmes starts with many difficult mountain stages, and that's my terrain."