A third place finish in the opening TT at #TDF2022 earned @TamauPogi the best young rider’s jersey.🥉🤍 #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
Tadej Pogacar has over the last few years primed his time-trialing skills, and he's taken them to a point where he thought for the stage win today in Copenhagen. Having finished third on the day, it was the most successful outcome the Slovenian could've expected.
“It was an excellent opening time trial for this Tour de France: even if the weather conditions were not good, the crowd was exciting and pushed me to give it my all, while enjoying the day at the same time," Pogacar said in a post-race interview. A fan of the rain, the weather conditions didn't prevent him from taking risks, and pushing the necessary watts to put time into every rival of his in the overall classification.
"Some corners could have been risky, but I didn’t take any chances, still managing to put in a very good performance thanks to good legs. It was a nice result also in terms of the general classification," he added. Pogacar will start the second stage in the lead of the youth classification aswell.
The defending champion took eight seconds on Jonas Vingegaard and nine on Primoz Roglic, and more on the remaining rivals. This puts him already in a superior and defensive position in the opening day of the race, a position which he sat on last year with no problem. The upcoming days will be tense, and will prove important for Pogacar's chances of winning the overall classification.
A third place finish in the opening TT at #TDF2022 earned @TamauPogi the best young rider’s jersey.🥉🤍 #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE