Tadej Pogacar wants victory at Tour de France: "There will also be strong competitors so it won’t be straightforward, but we’ll give it a good crack"

Tadej Pogacar has not had the perfect preparation towards the Tour de France but the ambition remains the same. After almost a month of training he's got enough form to fight for the win this summer, but he understands the colossal challenge that lays ahead.

"It’s been an unconventional preparation we can say with the wrist injury, but it’s been really good overall," Pogacar said in an extensive interview with The National. "We’ve just finished off an altitude camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain and now we’re heading to do some Tour recons and then back to altitude. It’s intense preparation but that’s what it takes, I guess. I’m enjoying the process."

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Ever since he got back on the road in the final days of May, the Slovenian has been putting in the work to arrive at the Tour as well prepared as possible. As his main rival Jonas Vingegaard comfortably dominated the Criterium du Dauphiné, Pogacar was behind schedule in Sierra Nevada. He's since also travelled to Sestrière in the Alps alongside a few of his teammates who will support him in the mountains at the Tour, including Adam Yates who was second at the Dauphiné.

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However this is a difficult Grand Tour to fight for the win if one does not enter with good form already, with several hilly and mountainous stages on the opening week, straight from day one. "We’re straight into the action from Stage 1 as the roads in the Basque Country are infamously tough. There is a huge cycling culture there in the north of Spain, too, so the fans will be out in force. From there we’ll take it day by day but for sure we will see some fireworks in the Alps as usual."

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Pogacar will be the leader of a UAE Team Emirates built around him. Adam Yates, Rafal Majka, Marc Soler, Domen Novak and Felix Grossschartner are expected to be announced as his main support for the mountains, whilst he will also be able to count on the support of Mikkel Bjerg and Vegard Stake Laengen for the flat days mainly. Perhaps not a team as strong as Jumbo-Visma, but one that will with no doubt be packed in every finale.

"When you want to win a race, you have to trust the guys around you 100 per cent. We have a great team and understand each other well. There will also be strong competitors so it won’t be straightforward, but we’ll give it a good crack."

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With the absence of the likes of Juan Ayuso, João Almeida and Jay Vine the lead will be uncontested, but throughout 21 days a lot can happen. Jonas Vingegaard has been showing a level just as high - if not higher - than last year in the run-up to the Tour, and Pogacar can expect a Jumbo-Visma which is prepared to give him hell throughout the three weeks.

"It’s hard to say for sure but I think we have a nice balance of personalities and characters in the team. When you spend so many days on the road and away from home it’s crucial to have a good group and ambiance. It makes the time away but easier," he concluded.

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Final startlist Tour de France with BIB | Vingegaard, Pogacar, Cavendish, Van der Poel, Van Aert, Alaphilippe, Bernal, Pidcock, Sagan and Girmay