I worked full-time in cycling journalism for a year before I attended one of Tadej Pogačar's races in person at, the first time being at the Canadian one-day races in 2024. Just six minutes into him speaking to the press in Quebec, a missed flight, lost luggage, and a trip to Disneyland Paris had become the topic of conversation.
While the latter never materialised during the three-hour layover he and a few other members of UAE – including his press officer whom he blamed for not wanting to go – had as they corrected their entry requirements, it was a first sign of the casual, nonchalant best rider in the world's personality I'd come to see on TV interviews and video-call press conferences.
