2024 Giro d’Italia winner and former double Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar says he is in even better shape than during the Italian Grand Tour and that he has “never felt so good on the bike.”
In his first interview since his Giro triumph, which the UAE Team Emirates racer won more than comfortably, a markedly positive Pogačar delivered an upbeat analysis of his current form going into his second Grand Tour of the season.
“It’s looked like I’ve made a step forward since the Giro, and my shape is even better than what I expected,” Pogačar said in the interview, published on UAE's website.
“I’ve done some good training, and I’ve tested my legs a little bit and to be honest, I have never felt so good on the bike.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing if I have improved in the race situations from the Giro, but I feel good so I cannot complain!”
Pogačar said he spent the week after the Giro doing easy rides before ramping up his training. The UAE Team Emirates leader has been at altitude training camp but has not done any racing since his first Grand Tour of the season.
The build-up for his fifth successive Tour de France participation could not be more different than in 2023, he said, because of breaking his wrist in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
“No-one prepares like that for the Tour if they’re not injured and so many things around me didn’t go well after the crash in Liege. I saw who was there to help me and who was not,” he said.
“There was some disappointment and negative energy around and it all built up to the Tour de France. I wasn’t 100% confident.
“There was going to be a moment where it all built up and I was going to crack and it was probably the time trial in Combloux” - where Pogačar suffered a major defeat by Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike).
“After that time trial, I completely shut down, there was no coming back. Also, after the Tour I had the World Championships, nothing went right for me” -despite which he still took a bronze medal in the road race - “and I had a tough moment. Luckily I could recover and finish the season well.”
Pogačar said that he expects Vingegaard to be in good shape for the Tour, despite his injuries in Itzulia Basque Country and long comeback, but warned that - as he found out last year - it was never easy to be 100% sure about race condition. He also pointed out that two other key rivals, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) will definitely be in the mix.
“Jonas was really injured, really hard, but I think he’s going to be fine. I think Jonas will be prepared and if he’s strong mentally and has recovered well then of course, I think we should be ready to see him at his best," said Pogačar.
“We saw with Remco and Primož that they were in really good shape at the [Critérium du] Dauphiné, maybe with Remco it was a little too soon to be flying 100% but Primož" - who won the race outright - "was in really good form.
"I think they are all going to be at a top level at the Tour. I do think it will be a really competitive Tour, but you never know how your opponents are. Our bodies are unpredictable, last year I thought I was 100% but one day I was super good, and one day I was not ready.”
Looking beyond the Tour de France, Pogačar confirmed, yet again, that he would not be doing the Vuelta a España, but he did say the World Championships in Zurich constituted his last major target of the season.
“Last year I was third in the World Championships, and I would like to give it a go again," he added. "I really like the course this year, Switzerland is a nice country, and it should be good roads and nice small climbs, it’ll be a tough race. To have the rainbow jersey would be a dream.”
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