Tour de France leader Tadej Pogacar has smiled at comparisons with cycling legend Eddy Merckx.
With two stage victories and the conquest of the yellow jersey in the first week of the tour, the outstanding Slovenian is becoming more and more like the Belgian, who was nicknamed “Cannibal” when he was active. “Who doesn’t always want to win? But I don’t see myself as a cannibal,” said the 23-year-old at the press conference on the rest day.
Pogacar, who has won the Tour of France for the past two years, is 39 seconds ahead of Dane Jonas Vingegaard and 1:17 minutes ahead of Welsh ex-Tour champion Geraint Thomas. Giving the yellow jersey to a driver in a breakaway group for a few days to protect his own team does not occur to him. “My team-mates love the yellow jersey as much as I do. You don’t give that away that easily. You don’t say no to the yellow jersey. It’s something special.”
The UAE team captain hopes to take the leader’s jersey all the way to Paris. That said, Pogacar knows tough days are ahead. The heat in particular could become a factor in the next few days. “Nobody likes to ride in 40 degrees. It’s going to be a tough week with extremes weather. I’m not so bad in hot weather. The days at the high-altitude training camp were also tough. I know what’s coming. I’m not afraid,” said the young star.