"When he pulled, he destroyed the whole peloton" - Tadej Pogacar's complements on João Almeida at Catalunya

Tadej Pogacar dominated the finish in Vallter 2000 on stage 2 of the 2024 Volta a Catalunya. He won the stage by almost a minute and a half over second-placed Mikel Landa. One of the big names in the spotlight was João Almeida, with the pace imposed by the Portuguese rider annihilating the group of favorites. And Pogacar was one of the riders to praise him.

"At the start of the climb, João was telling me that he didn't feel very well, but when he pulled, he destroyed the whole peloton. At one point, I thought he was doing so well that he could go with me," said the Slovenian cyclist at the post-race press conference.

"We already had a small lead, but he (Almeida, ed.) told me to try and solo to the finish line. I knew it was still a long way to the top, but I also had a lot of support on the radio, so I gave it my all."

Despite his large lead, Pogacar is still not singing victory. As for his strategy for stage 3, another high finish, the Slovenian hasn't opened up his game too much:

"Domen [Novak] did a lot of work today, as did Felix [Grossschartner]. It's up to them a bit. Let's see how the stage goes, I don't want them to suffer too much."