Tadej Pogacar victorious at Giro dell'Emillia: "The first race in the rainbow jersey you need to prove again that you are the best"

Tadej Pogacar won this past Sunday a world title and, in his first appearance in the new rainbow jersey, decimated the competition at the Giro dell'Emilia. The World Champion won with two minutes over his closest competitors and had no true competition in the Italian classic.

"Mission accomplished and I'm happy to do it in this rainbow jersey. I must admit I felt really good... The first four days until Thursday I was like nothing and then i arrived here, I got all the kit all the jerseys and I felt the pressure," the UAE Team Emirates rider said in a post-race interview.

There were barely any tactics to this victory, it was based on power. In a very rainy day that made life hard for most victory contenders, Pogacar looked unbothered. UAE didn't even take much responsibility in the race, instead Lidl-Trek pushed the pace before the final circuit; and then it was a matter of following wheels. He followed an attack from Remco Evenepoel and then a move from an Astana rider, and surprisingly his rivals except for Matteo Jorgenson let the wheel go.

In the climb that reached gradients as high as 16%, the world champion easily dropped Jorgenson and then quickly extended his gap over the group that wouldn't organize itself well. Ultimately, Pogacar grew a gap that was not possible to close anymore. He took the victory and in such form, beating him at Il Lombardia seems to be mission impossible for his rivals.

"The first race in the rainbow jersey you need to prove again that you are the best. I was under pressure to perform today, but it was a good day in the end," he concluded.