Tadej Pogacar brushes off effects of Liege injury: “I knew immediately after the crash that I could ride the Tour"

Although it may have looked touch and go from the outside after his crash at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Tadej Pogacar was always confident he would be at the Tour de France and as he is currently intensely training at altitude it seems he was correct.

“I knew immediately after the crash that I could ride the Tour," says Pogacar confidently in an update posted to his official Instagram account. "The form will be fine, partly because I can now fully focus on training for twenty days."

Currently training at altitude in preparation for his Yellow Jersey quest, Pogacar is enjoying being able to get outside on his bike. "I've been in Sierra Nevada for a few days now, where the Tour de France team is on a training camp. Up until this point, I was getting a little bored on the stationary bike," he says. "You can't do anything, although it's sometimes good to make miles in the virtual world. Until now I only rode the rollers, but luckily I can also go outside a bit. The first days you always have to be a little careful. Next week I can get back to work full throttle."

"The Tour de France is just around the corner, but fortunately my form is not as bad as expected," reassures the Slovenian who is expected to lead the UAE Team Emirates lineup. “I am now focusing on a full recovery and it is also important to be comfortable on the bike again. In the second and third week of the camp I want to be able to ride a real training block and then I will explore the stages in the Alps."