Got to love it when @majkaformal wins 🏆😍. Amazing first day at @TourOfSlovenia @SloveniaInfo , strong performance from all the team @TeamEmiratesUAE 💚 congrats also @DomenNovak , respect ✊. #teamwork #WeAreUAE
"The first week scares me" - Pogacar on Tour expectations, fears and Jumbo-Visma rivalry
CyclingThursday, 16 June 2022 at 12:30
UAE Team Emirates are on a roll and getting ready for the Tour de France, with different parts of it's block spread out across the Critérium du Dauphiné, Tour de Suisse and Tour of Slovenia. Tadej Pogacar will be fighting for his third Tour, but aknowledges a big challenge ahead.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Pogacar has said that "I had to restrain myself and needed a break after the spring". After the passing of his partner's mother, the Slovenian opted out of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and later on took a break from racing, in order to rest and begin preparation for the Tour de France.
He was asked about the Grand Boucle where he will defend his 2020 and 2021 titles, and has admitted to be fearful of the opening week. "The first week scares me. There is the twelve kilometer long bridge finish in Denmark on the North Sea. There is a chance of fans and bad weather," he said. "And there's the cobblestone ride. It becomes survival. As they say, you can't win the Tour in the first week, but you can lose it. I will need a strong team next to me.”
Pogacar is an ideal all-rounder, however the doubts don't come over his capacity, but instead on the outside factors which can influence the race. The first six stages of the race lack climbing to make the difference, but it promises to be - as every year - very tense racing which can see crashes, and where mechanicals can have big consequences. Heading into the mountains, Pogacar shares a similar idea.
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“I have never raced the Galibier and Alpe d'Huez. The Galibier is really high, while Alpe d'Huez is awful. I've never seen anything like it. If it's 35 degrees, like during the recon, it's going to be an epic day," he said. Last year it was in the Alps that the 23-year old made the winning difference en route to Le Grand-Bornand, however this year may see a different story.
And Jumbo-Visma will have a team even stronger, as long as crashes don't affect the Dutch team. “We'll see if it's enough this year to be as good as last year. I feel stronger, I am sharper, I have more strength and I feel psychologically more confident. My first win came out of nowhere. There was no pressure and it was a great surprise. I was more aware of what I could do when I took my second Tour," he added. "Now I know that everyone is waiting to get on me. It will not be easy this year and there will be a lot of pressure".
"I will have to be at my best to take on Roglic and Vingegaard. The Jumbo-Visma team has gotten better and instills fear on the climbs. But I will start the Tour with a smile on my face and keep smiling until I reach Paris," he concluded.
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- Most of these have nothing to do with rider safety or are completely unachievablevappaxbipmv23-12-2024
- Depends on how fast the Cipressa would be beforehand and in what condition Philipsen would bevappaxbipmv23-12-2024
- Some things sound crazy until they aren't, what if he's actually right? 🤷vappaxbipmv23-12-2024
- Why make a comment to state the obvious? Of course MvdP is much better at CX than Pogacar, does anyone doubt that But that wasn't his pointvappaxbipmv23-12-2024
- If you look at road alone obvi Pogacar is the better rider. But maybe MVDP is the better overall rider since he can win in three plus disciplines?mobk23-12-2024
- Correction on 2021 Olympics. It was mainly the Dutch ladies who didn’t know who was leading the race. Other teams like the Germans and Italians knew that Kiesenhofer was out front.mobk23-12-2024
- A champion turning into a sore loser. Or is he on coke again?
UltimateOpportunist23-12-2024 - If you look at the major races they’ve both been in, van der Poel had the early edge as lately Pogacar has had the advantage. It’s all on procyclingstats.RidesHills23-12-2024
- I wouldn’t assume Tadej can’t win at cross. He did a cross race, not a World Cup, a few years ago and crushed the field. It was a minor race. But he can win anywhere.mij23-12-2024
- I wonder what would happen if Pogacar attacked on the Cipressa instead of the Poggio in San Remo? Would MvdPoel still be able to follow?Ride197423-12-2024