"Tadej Pogacar's the most relaxed I’ve seen him, which is scary" - Michael Matthews sends warning to Tour de France peloton
Cycling
Ahead of the 2025 Tour de France, all eyes are once again on the all-conquering Rainbow Jersey of UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian is the favourite to the claim the Maillot Jaune this year, and according to Pogacar's great friend Michael Matthews, the rest of the peloton should be very worried.
Matthews, who has been forced to miss the Tour de France this year and even put his career on hold after showing signs of a pulmonary embolism during a Team Jayco AlUla altitude camp, is instead keeping track of the action via the TNT Sports studio. On the channel's coverage of stage 1, the Aussie gave fans an insight into the mindset of Pogacar heading into the 2025 edition of the French Grand Tour.
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"Honestly, from my experience of being really close to Tadej, this is the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him," explained the four-time Tour de France stage winner on TNT Sports. "We were doing lots of training sessions the last few weeks, and we were meeting for ice cream at the end of training."
In Matthews' opinion, the signs of Pogacar being so relaxed do not bode well for the Slovenian's Maillot Jaune rivals. "He’s had an amazing year so far and he knows what shape he’s in," concludes the 34-year-old Australian. "He knows what he did in Dauphine, and he’s the most relaxed I’ve seen him, which is scary actually."
Pogacar was in good spirits at the Team Presentation on Thursday evening
Speaking to TNT himself ahead of the Grand Depart, Pogacar sounded in good spirits. "When I was a kid I was not even dreaming to be on the start line, and now here is my sixth time on the start line," said the UAE leader. "I’m fighting for the victory again. It’s the biggest race in the world so yeah, it is the most important race in every cyclist’s career."
"I think we can expect the unexpected. We can see a fight already from today," Pogacar also warned ahead of stage 1. "But yeah, we've got a really good team. Super good atmosphere so far and I’m looking forward to spending the three weeks with the guys."
Let battle commence 👊
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) July 5, 2025
Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard greeted each other at the start of Stage 1 of the Tour de France.
📸 Sprint Cycling
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🇫🇷 #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/HQHvC3LslG
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- What a travesty ! That little deviation did nothing to impede Brand !frieders307-11-2026
- I also wanne beat Pogacar in the tour but it aint gonne happen. Jonas unfortunately getting dropped by del toro and seixas several times this TDF and jonas team is very weak and joinas on way down, it aint happening thats clear. its also clear it only happened cause Pogacar was hurt and had a broken wrist that time everytime both full strenght its not close we just have to be honest about it :/miguel07-11-2026
- They do this but literally let cars on courses to run over riders.mij07-11-2026
- Looking at that photo she appears to be several feet from her. I’m not sure how that impeded brands sprint.mij07-11-2026
- I hope you are wrong but I suspect you will be proved correct. It might do something for Scottish tourism - although due to logistics the route skips the most spectacular parts of Scotland. It will bring in short term money no doubt, but will cycling overall in the U,K benifit? I doubt it. Even at £2 a litre the bits love thei cars,Cyclingsbestfan07-11-2026
- Lucky to not get disqualified
leedorney07-11-2026 - The road from Holyrood to Edinburgh Castle is a nice steady climb of just over a mile that is cobbled in many parts. (Very slippery if wet!) If the teams are going by one by one that will give fans an even better view of the riders up close than the castle esplanade.Cyclingsbestfan07-11-2026
- wtf dudemij07-11-2026
- big rival … ridiculous.Ketterechts07-11-2026
- It would be great if the World Champion's jersey could be rotated among McNulty, Simmons, and Jorgenson. They threaded the needle perfectly. If each hadn't done exactly what he did, exactly when he did it, the race would have gone to one of the more heralded superstars. That said, how nice that this humble and hardworking guy gets his moment in the sun.
MarkFour07-11-2026
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