Tadej Pogacar dislikes conservative tactic at Giro d'Italia: "Making such concessions doesn't necessarily make me happy"

Tadej Pogacar is a rider who likes to race aggressively and he is by far the strongest climber at the Giro d'Italia. With several stage wins under his belt, the Slovenian knows it's possible to win even more, and is not the biggest fan of the conservative tactics played out during stage 10 where UAE Team Emirates let the breakaway fight for the stage win.

"It was a fairly diplomatic decision not to ride for the stage win. But making such concessions doesn't necessarily make me happy," Pogacar said in a post-race interview. "We wanted to race in a way that would make everyone happy. It wasn't about whether I would win or not. We just rode more calmly, and that meant Bahrain Victorious had to do more work. We weren't in control on the final climb."

With half of the Giro left to go, and a Tour de France in the schedule for later in the summer, it makes sense for the Slovenian to try and save a bit of energy if possible. Although not bullet-proof, his lead of over 2:30 minutes over Daniel Martínez, in current circumstances, sees him as the man to beat by far in the race. He knows that a stage win would be likely if the GC riders were to have the opportunity at Bocca della Selva, but Pogacar followed the advice of the team to race more conservatively.

"I might prefer an approach where we determine how and what we do ourselves. But there are many riders in the peloton, and we have a cake to share. Sometimes you get the chance, sometimes you don't," he adds. He finished the stage alongside Ben O'Connor and the main GC contenders, with small gaps being created at the end, "It's still a bit 50-50, but for example, on a Prati di Tivo, it was easier for us to go for the stage win. Still, we shouldn't be concerned with keeping everyone happy. We also need to think about what's to come."