"We stared at the TV screen and didn't know what was happening" - Urska Zigart recalls watching Itzulia horror crash with Tadej Pogacar
Cycling
At the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year, three of the main contenders for the upcoming Tour de France crashed and crashed hard. The only one of the so called 'Big 4' that wasn't present at the race, was Tadej Pogacar.
As rivals Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic among other riders were rushed to hospital following their involvement in the crash, Pogacar was watching in shock alongside partner, Urska Zigart. "We stared at the TV screen and didn't know what was happening," Zigart recalls in conversation with Sporza. "It even gave me a stomach ache."
Whilst both Roglic and Evenepoel have insisted on their intentions to still compete at the Tour de France later this summer, for Pogacar's main rival Vingegaard, things look a lot more difficult following nearly two weeks in a hospital bed with numerous fractures and most worryingly, a perforated lung.
Speaking about Pogacar's current level however, Zigart feels the UAE Team Emirates leader is getting somewhere near his best. "Tadej is certainly fine at the moment, but after the Volta a Catalunya he was very tired. He also had difficulty getting used to the altitude. After a long training, he was once so tired that I almost beat him in the sprint," she laughs.
This Sunday at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, both Zigart and Pogacar will be competing and there will be some extra incentive too as the day marks the two-year anniversary of the death of Zigart's mother. "I don't want to jinx it, but I hope Tadej can honor her with a victory in Liège," she concludes.
You are not serious, if you think these people are "over dramatic"
This comment section is so cringe, despite the article is being the opposite🙄🤐😑
Maybe for someone who doesn’t ride but I can assure you, anyone who rides competitively or has crashed can fill in the blanks with imagination intuitively knowing what it means to be in such a situation under such conditions. When you watch someone get knifed or shot in a movie or game it has one effect, when it happens in front of you, you take away a whole new set of thoughts and emotions that’ll come back each time your mind gets confronted with a real-life report on such events. Count yourself lucky if it didn’t affect you.
"a bit overly dramatic"..... please tell that to Jay,Jonas,Remco,Primoz and others.
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- Yep I think he must still be recovering from that crash last year. He has done well to get over that, but I would bet it will take some time yet to get back to peak pre-crash fitness. This latest "off" will not have helped.Cyclingsbestfan17-03-2025
- Doesn't mean anything. In 2023 he was only 3rd at Paris-Nice but then won the toursomeeffingname17-03-2025
- MSR is the race that brings the Spring', proper for better or worse...
leedorney17-03-2025 - Not sure that’s the whole story otherwise babies would be a lit more susceptible to nose bacteria too. Obviously cyclist breathe far more than average humans which should help keep things cleaner, on the other hand if you don’t clean your nose well or use an infected finger … and then why bacteria and not viruses? I would prepare mentally for more testing if this doesn’t solve things. Teeth and gums are the most overlooked entry point for infectious agents. Ears and eyes can also be easily contaminated.Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- Yeah, sorry, some people forget a few facts like him being in a similar age category as Tadej, Jonas, Remco, Tom and that there are plenty of promising younger riders developing too so it’s really quite far-fetched based on current givens.Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- If they learnt from 2024 MVDP/JP strategy, yes, possibleMistermaumau17-03-2025
- Name another race with 20 different winners in the last 30 years. This is probably the single most influential fact that points towards Tadej, or will it be Mads, or a « newcomer »?Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- Nobody asked you and you have very little future prediction precedent. 20 years ago no-one predicted Slovenian cycling domination, Tadej, Trump, Manchester United replaced by City, the recent serial UK Tory leadership or the drastic demise of German Olympic performance. Unfortunately JJ probably won’t be around much longer so can’t be held « accountable » if wrong.Mistermaumau17-03-2025
- Also, note how fast a counter article appeared, either naturally or as part of a comm. strategyMistermaumau17-03-2025
- Not sure, remember where he is saying it and what this person did for him. Perhaps he was coaxed into saying something to stimulate US interest or provocative to improve you know who’s media significance.Mistermaumau17-03-2025