Tadej Pogacar preparing Tour de France assault in Italian Alps

Tadej Pogacar will be riding the Tour de France this summer in an attempt to defend his title and take a third triumph home, and he has opted for a less traditional run-up to the Grand Boucle, different than all of his rivals.

In May he opted to do a recon of the Tour de France stages across the Pyrenees and the Alps before taking on a three-week altitude camp late in the month at Livigno - a very popular altitude training location in northern Italy. This Wednesday Pogacar shared a ride on Strava proving he is still in the area and putting in the hard work whilst most of his rivals are either racing the Critérium du Dauphiné or preparing to race the Tour de Suisse just north of the border.

Like last year he will be racing his home Tour of Slovenia in the upcoming week as the final preparation race before the Tour. Whilst he is the outright favourite to take the overall win, his primary focus will be to test his legs before the big goal of the year.