Tadej Pogacar disappointed with modest World Championships ride: "This is not what we came for"

Tadej Pogacar wanted a tough race in Wollongong for the World Championships, as he came in within a good shot of grabbing the rainbow jersey. It turned out to be more difficult than he expected however.

“This is not what we came for. The legs still feel good at the end of the season. That's why I'm disappointed, also because I didn't place better in the sprint for the medals," Pogacar said in a post-race interview. "I didn't even know where we were riding. It was therefore very chaotic," he added, further pointing to the generalized criticism of the lack of race radios.

Pogacar was present in an early move over Mount Keira, but did not have the legs to attack Mount Pleasant later in the race. The Slovenian kept up with the peloton, but it featured several sprinters who then had the upper hand towards the finale. "I didn't know where Jan [Tratnik] was driving, but suddenly I saw him in the last kilometer. We are now empty-handed," Pogacar added, referring to his teammate who was caught in sight of the line. Pogacar rode into 19th place in the middle of the peloton.

As several other riders pointed out, there was a lot of confusion over racing without radio. Pogacar joined them in pointing out how different it was to do so: "It was a strange course. I found it very difficult to race without earphones.”