Tadej Pogacar may have suffered the first slight disappointment of his season so far at Milano-Sanremo, finishing fourth, but former team boss Aart Vierhouten believes it will only be a minor setback.
“Tadej is a racing animal,” Vierhouten tells Wielerflits of his former UAE Team Emirates colleague. “A real race horse. He would like. You shouldn't hide him on a mountain for three weeks every time. He's not interested in that at all. He just wants to race. The passion for cycling is so deep in him, he wants to show it. Driving races, that's what he likes. That is why Tadej became a cyclist. That is why the fun splashes off him in the race.”
Whilst for many a fourth placed finish at Milano-Sanremo would be a great result, every time Tadej Pogacar takes to the startline it's almost expected that he will be the man crossing the finish line with his arms aloft in celebration. "Last year the outcome was disappointing. I almost pulled my steering wheel out of my car. If he had stuck to the plan – start first, at least three hundred meters from the finish line – he could have won even then. Tadej was the strongest in the race," Vierhouten recalls of last years Tour des Flandres.
“The other top players should see Tadej as a top favorite. If they don't, they undervalue him. That's the biggest mistake they can make," he continues. "Pogačar also achieved the fastest time ever on the Oude Kwaremont last year. What more can I say? There is no getting in between: Tadej is going to make his mark.”
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