Tadej Pogacar ahead of his autumn campaign in Italy: "Now I feel fresh again and I'm eager to race"

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."