Tadej Pogacar ahead of his autumn campaign in Italy: "Now I feel fresh again and I'm eager to race"
Cycling
After a rest period, Tadej Pogacar returns to racing on Wednesday. The UAE Team Emirates rider will wear a jersey number again in the Giro della Toscana. A day later he is also at the start of the Coppa Sabatini.
For Pogacar, the competitions are all about gaining competition rhythm towards the Il Lombardia, which is scheduled for early October. "I had a good rest period since the World Championships," the Slovenian said on the team website. At the World Championships in Glasgow, Pogacar took a bronze medal in the road race. He could not compete for medals in the time trial.
"I was ready for a break and now I feel fresh again and am eager to start this last period in Italy," said Pogacar. "The Italian autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. There is always a great atmosphere during the run-up to Lombardia." Pogacar can win the autumn classic for the third time after his victories in 2022 and 2021. In the run-up to the last Monument of the year he will also ride the Giro dell'Emilia on September 30 and the Tre Valli Varesine on October 3, he recently announced.
Then he also looked back on his failed Tour mission. "Without my broken wrist my season would have been perfect. At first I thought the crash and fracture weren't that bad, but when I look back on my Tour preparation now, it definitely had an impact. My preparation was not the same as the years before. I started the Tour in good shape, but I wasn't ready to go all out for three weeks."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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