Tadej Pogacar was considered by many to be the man to beat at yesterday's Flèche Wallone, however the expectations didn't get confirmed as the Slovenian struggled in the run-up to the sprint at the Mur de Huy and ended up in a modest 12th place across the finish.
“In the end, it’s a hard race, and a hard final. I did my best. I pushed myself over the limit and I came to the front row with 200m to go. I was quite excited to be there, and I thought that I could do it but then the lactate hit me and I barely got to the finish. It’s all good," Pogacar said in a post-race interview. Like many of his rivals, he stayed sheltered from the wind all day long in order to be at his best for the final effort. He didn't enter the final climb in the best position, but was near the front when Dylan Teuns made the winning attack.
However, not far from the line, it was evident that Pogacar had cracked, and slowly made his way up to the line loosing places, but finishing in sight of the first. He added: “I really liked the race, it was nice and hard. They changed the course a bit this year and it was really tough but I’m looking forward to Sunday. Two years ago I was also ninth here, and it was a similar finish style, and then in Liège I was in the front group."
“I’m fully motivated for Sunday. I don’t see this as a weakness. It’s a one-day race and this happens. Sometimes you can’t do your best, sometimes you can do really good but I don’t think that this was a weakness," he concluded.
💬 @TamauPogi after his 12th place at #FlecheWallonne 🏹: “I really liked the race. It was very hard, with 200m to go I was at the front and quite excited to go for it but I just didn’t have it today. I’m really motivated for #LBL on Sunday.” #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
