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UAE's Rui Oliveira on the work Tadej Pogacar does for his teammates: "I am left speechless, because he is not expected to do that, and he does it anyway"
CyclingTuesday, 14 May 2024 at 14:00
UAE Team Emirates have the pleasure of having Tadej Pogacar lining up at the Giro d'Italia; leading the race, winning stages and even leading out his teammate Juan Sebastián Molano in the finale of stage 9. Rui Oliveira, who is supporting the Slovenian at the Giro, never ceases to be amazed at the race leader.
"Even though we have the best rider in the world, things are not that easy. Behind these 2 minutes and 40 seconds of advantage, we have been through a lot in 9 days," Oliveira said in an interview with Portugal Cycling Magazine. "You need to be very lucky, but obviously we also seek that luck, we seek to stay out of danger, and I think that, as a team, we have done an extraordinary job."
Thus far in 9 days of racing, Pogacar has not crashed (except for a minor tumble due to a puncture at the base of Oropa on stage 2), has not lost unnecessary time and always looked alive to the occasion. Without a doubt, the man to beat, but the Portuguese rider knows that nothing can be taken for granted: "I think these 2 minutes and 40 seconds are a good advantage, but they don’t mean anything. All it takes is one bad day, one crash, one puncture at a bad time, anything can happen."
"2, 3, 4, 5 minutes, we need to pay attention every day. That’s why we’re going with our feet on the ground and taking it easy, because there are still two weeks to go." Oliveira came to the Giro with the role of main leadout main for Juan Sebastián Molano, but it was Pogacar himself who served this purpose in Napoli.
As Oliveira struggled and was dropped in the finale, Pogacar put in a strong stint in the front of the peloton ahead of the finale which allowed the sprinters to battle for the triumph. "He is a champion, in every way! He has no obligation to do anything in the end, he just has to follow the main group, not waste time and save energy, but he is truly a champion... I am left speechless, because he is not expected to do that, and he does it anyway," Oliveira says of his teammate.
This is another factor that leads to confidence and commitment within the team to give everything they've got to equally help Pogacar conquer the pink jersey. "The only thing we can do for him is, in the other stages, give 200% for him, because honestly he deserves everything."
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