Tadej Pogacar already thinking about Tour de France: "I'm really looking forward to July to compete against Jonas, Remco and Primoz"
CyclingMonday, 20 May 2024 at 20:59
A lot has been written abot Tadej Pogacar's phenomenal ride to win the stage 15 from the beautiful lakes of Manerba del Garda to the skiing centre Mottolino in Livigno. And that's precisely where the 26-year-old Slovenian feels home and where he met the love of his life Urska Zigart. While the Maglia Rosa wearer certainly didn't lack motivation to take on the queen stage of Giro d'Italia, this special attachment gave him the wings that allowed him to fly.
Pogacar already expressed how much he was looking forward to Livigno, which he elaborated on in the press conference. "The first time here in Livigno was as a junior when I was at training camp in Sankt Moritz with the national team. We came here with an almost broken van to refuel. After all, gasoline was cheaper here. That was the first time."
He continues the story: "After that, I think I came back here every year. I have great memories of Livigno and it's wonderful to have won the queen stage here now. This is where I had my first date with my fiancée Urska. That was the best moment of my life."
The Italian grand tour is far from over, may it not seem so through the glasses of Pogacar's opponents who don't seem to come even close to the overlord of Corsa Rosa. And even the UAE Team Emirates leader is already eyeing his next goal for this summer - the Tour de France.
At the Grande Boucle, he should face off with Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel - a competition that should give the Slovenian a good run for his money. All three were impacted by the tough crash in Itzulia Basque Country, but reports suggest they should be back at their best by July.
"That competition is coming," Pogacar says, cautiously looking ahead to the Tour de France. "I'm really looking forward to July to compete against Jonas, Remco and Primoz. First, we have to survive the last week here, and then the focus will be on July," said Pogacar.
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- Go, Yatesy!! And Felix!mhfrvz08-05-2025
- He (itsent) is making fun of you (awp).verve82508-05-2025
- It's pretty obvious they didn't notice the step and stumbled down. It's clear because there are other spectators sitting on the step and the stumbler was looking at the peloton and not where they were stepping.Pogboom08-05-2025
- If Primoz wins, it'll only be because no TdF contenders show up to the Giro.Veganpotter08-05-2025
- To me it seems like she wanted to take a step closer but she hadn’t noticed the level was lower and as she tried to look down to understand the unexpected movement in her leg her balance continued forward and then she tried to find footing to stop the movement but there was none left so down she went, silly fart. Hope that girl in the red jersey was ok, didn’t seem to react well.Mistermaumau07-05-2025
- and Mc Nulty....
maria2024202407-05-2025 - mmmmm... AYUSO, Adam, AYUSO, Mc nulty, AYUSO.... UAE without the clear POgacar leadership could be a mess.... we'll see...maria2024202407-05-2025
- he's the most elegant rider in the peloton, like a dancer.maria2024202407-05-2025
- So the Piddie GC experiment is over. He should have done that long agoabstractengineer07-05-2025
- So 50/50 huh? Not much of a prediction there.awp07-05-2025
Remco is irrelevant, what he'll bring into this "battle"? He has little to no form under him, Van Aert is also out of form, so does Jonas too, Roglic is also not in form either, so... Why he wish to have a "battle" with Remco, WVA, Jonas and Rogi despite they are not in form?
This makes no sense at all to ne, and Pogi should know this.
But still he is only 25 turning 26 on September. Next year he can be there in Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The Cannibal 2.0
This is May, will be June in like a week? That is like just over 4 months away... Just saying
Forget P-R for the next few years
Seems like all of the big 4 go to the tour with a sort of "baggage". Some recovering from injury, Tadej from the Giro in his legs. So at the end of the day, a level playing field for all.
Not really.
The injuries have not been equal, and I would much rather have a GT in my legs than break most of my upper body like Jonas did and spend 12 days in hospital and almost a month without any serious training.
It is true everyone is coming to the Tour with baggage, but it's not an even playing field.
Correction: Pogi is 25, not 26.
Guess I am not the only one miscalculate atheletes' ages these days😅😂😅
TP setting a new precedent: using a grand tour win as a training ride...
Here we go baby 🥰🥰
Everybody minds have now gone either towards the TDF or the minor placings for Giro.
It looks that way