Wollongong circuit "suitable for attackers", Tadej Pogacar hints

This Sunday will see the climax of the World Championships, and Tadej Pogacar is hinting at it as his main goal of the final part of the season. He will be looking for the rainbow jersey after missing out on the Tour de France win.

“It is going to be a very difficult race. There are several short climbs, but the course is also technical due to the many bends. That makes it suitable for attackers, so we can expect an interesting race," the Slovenian said in an interview with Wielerflits. "Maybe a small group can pull away in the final. That would be to my advantage.”

Having recently won the GP de Montréal, the Slovenian has shown to have returned to strong form. He travelled early to Australia, and rode to sixth position on the individual time-trial, where Tobias Foss took the win. However afterwards he was keen on pointing out his priority would be in the coming week.

“The World Championships is always an open competition in which a lot can happen. Many riders can win the World Championships. Especially this year on this route. You can't ride a rider's wheel. You have to keep your eyes open all day long, but also always keep your own chances as a starting point. After the Tour de France, the World Championships is my big goal for the autumn," he confirmed.

Although he's regularly performed at one-day races, with wins at Il Lombardia, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Strade Bianche as examples, he's never actually cracked a Top10 in the World Championships at Elite level. “It is true that I can perform well in one-day races, but it is not my territory," he continued. "The unexpected appeals to me. You always have to gamble. This is certainly the case at the World Championships. You always have to wait and see how things fall that day, because you never know what to expect. So much can happen. In a stage race with longer climbs I come into my own better. But I like the classics. You always have to gamble."

He also confirms that he will then travel to Italy where he will look to defend his title in the final monument of the season. "I love that. I am really looking forward to the World Championships and then again to the Italian classics with, of course, Il Lombardia, which I won last year.” However his focus is on what's set to go down this week.

"At a World Championship you only have one arrow to the bow. The attack you make must be the right one. At that [2020] World Championships I fired my powder too early. Too bad, because I had strong legs that day..." he said. He'll be racing with a Slovenian team that won't feature Primoz Roglic and Matej Mohoric due to health complications, giving him an absolute leader status, but depriving him of some support which could otherwise be crucial.

“With the guys in the sponsor team you ride all year round and you know each other through and through. You know what to expect from each other. You don't know each other very well in the national team. With Slovenia we start with six riders. We don't have as strong a team as some countries that start with eight men, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and France. Nevertheless, we have a strong team and I don't think this is a disadvantage," he concluded.