Tadej Pogacar's coach: "Given Tadej’s ability to recover and adapt, we remain very optimistic for the Tour"

Confidence rages within UAE Team Emirates. Despite the Liège-Bastogne-Liège hampering Tadej Pogacar's preparation for the Tour de France, his coach Jeroen Swart is certain the Slovenian will still reach his best level quite quickly.

“I don’t think Tadej’s training program has been jeopardized to any great extent. He was due to have a rest period and a break after Ardennes classics, so in terms of timing, it couldn’t have been better, if you can put it that way," team coach Jeroen Swart told Velonews. “He’s on the road again and due to go to altitude soon. We are pretty confident he can build back fast.”

Pogacar had four weeks off the road following wrist fractures. A less than ideal situation which means he hasn't travelled to an aero testing stint, and did not take part in an altitude training camp with his teammates. However, perhaps only with Tim Wellens, he will soon travel to altitude for his own camp, whilst opting not to race all the way until the Grand Boucle.

“Given Tadej’s ability to recover and adapt, we remain very optimistic for the Tour. The unique thing with Tadej is that he’s able to accumulate a training load and recover and adapt faster than most other riders," Swart tells. "And that means that although he’s doing similar sessions and similar kinds of stimuli in his training to others, he’s able to do more of it, and he’s able to reach a higher level sooner."

He is still to do some recon of Tour stages in the weeks leading up to the race, and the team believe he will be able to reach high form in no time, and battle for a third Tour de France title. Competition will be hard, and will include Jonas Vingegaard who topped him last year in the high mountains.

“Traditionally, we think of athletes going to the Tour de France, accumulating fatigue over the course of the three weeks, progressively performing at a lower level, and just sort of holding on. But we have seen with Tadej, and a small handful of other athletes, that his capacity to adapt is such that he often produces his best performances," Swart concluded on the Slovenian.