"Tadej Pogacar's the most relaxed I’ve seen him, which is scary" - Michael Matthews sends warning to Tour de France peloton

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. 

"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."

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."