The Slovenian leader in this Tour did not want to make the comparison with Eddy Merckx, as being as the new cannibal† „I always want to win, but take Sunday: it was not the intention to take the stage. We just wanted to maintain the race pace that my boys preferred. It was about control of the stage. At one point it might have looked on TV that we wanted to go for the ride too, but the guys up front were just too strong. In the last 250 meters only Jonas Vingegaard could follow and we took a few seconds on the rest. And that’s always good.”
Vingegaard continues to claim that the longer climbs suit him better. Pogacar declined to say he is the best climber at the moment. “I don’t know. We’ll see in the next days. We already had some climbs but they weren’t crazy hard† Tuesday is more like a warm-up. The Col du Granon and Alpe d’Huez are two really big alpine rides. I have a good eye on my fitness. I hope for good legs this week too.”
The heat is the same for everyone
All the weather forecasts are headed in the same direction: it’s getting warmer and warmer, especially the last week. “It’s the same for everyone. You just have to try to keep your body as fresh as possible. I don’t think anyone likes to race when it’s forty degrees hot. I don’t even think it’s healthy. It will be a tough week with extreme weather conditions. I hope we will do everything correctly and that we can keep ourselves cool enough to ride our own course.”
Here too Vingegaard would indicate that he is stronger when the sun shines harder. “We will see if he is slightly better. I’m not that bad in hot conditions. I’ve been training in very hot weather for many days. And raced, like in the Tour of Slovenia.”
No training sessions in the heat chamber
Pogacar heard thunder in Cologne when he was asked if he had specially trained in heat chambers to mimic the weather conditions he will face this week. “Do you mean a sauna? Oh, no. I’ve never heard of it, never thought of it. In my sport we have to ride outside. We are dropped on the road at the start. What would I be training in a room? I also had some really hot days on altitude training. Also the two times that I rode up to the Tour de Alpe d’Huez, it was already 37 degrees. I know very well what is coming my way. I’m not afraid.”
A smiling Tadek Pogacar.
ANP/HH
no dictator
Pogacar thought he had recovered well from the past nine days and even had his hair cut after the video press conference. “Whether my team has recovered from the efforts of the past few days? It was about the same for all leaders last week. Stress, cobblestones, fairly hard. I’m glad it’s rest day. But I’m not the guy who controls the entire squad’s efforts. They do that themselves, you know. They’re humans, not robots. I’m not the guy who tells them what to do. They know what they are doing. They are experienced. They have been heading very solidly already. They do it really well. We are all equally motivated for next week.”
Going home if there is a risk of contamination
The two-time Tour winner was asked whether he La Grande Boucle would leave if he tested positive for Covid. “Yes. If I’m under the threshold limit sat of 35, which means that you are really a contagion risk for the others, the staff, the group, then it is best that you go home. Then it doesn’t matter whether you wear yellow or not. It’s just not safe for your fellow man. You can endanger the health of others. Especially since we race every day in such harsh conditions. If the virus has caught you, it is not really healthy to continue.”
Keep yellow until Paris
The 24-year-old ruler of cycling will discover Alpe d’Huez in the Tour for the first time on Wednesday. He did, of course, explore that ride. “It’s an iconic, tough climb. It will be warm and moreover difficult before we reach the foot of the final climb. It will be an interesting day. A legendary Tour ride to watch on TV, but for us it won’t be much fun to be. Although I am looking forward to it.”
Many people expected that ‘Pogi’ would give away the yellow on the drive to Châtel, but the leader himself does not think so. “Fortunately, my teammates love yellow as much as I do. It’s not something you just give away because everyone assumes it’s a good thing in view of the Tour’s continuation. Throughout the year we work very hard with the whole team for that yellow jersey. And then there’s all that stuff like Covid that can send you home… No, I’d rather keep that shirt. It’s so special. It’s better to be one step ahead than one step behind. We are now in pole position. We can the thing to check. It’s a little easier for me under the circumstances. It’s nice to be a leader already. I hope to keep this yellow until Paris.”
Source: The newspapaer