What to expect from Tadej Pogačar at Tour de France? Tune in to Tour of Slovenia this week
'I’ve been feeling good in training, but it’s hard to know exactly how you’re going until you’re in the race.' Pogačar tests legs before Tour defense.
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Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) is riding home roads toward the Tour de France.
The Pogačar-megastar will be racing for the first time since April at the Tour of Slovenia on Wednesday.
“It’s been a while since I last pinned on a race number so I’m eager and excited to get back into it,” he said.
“We’ve been training at altitude in Livigno and the atmosphere has been great in the team. I’ve been feeling pretty good in training, but it’s always hard to know exactly how you’re going until you’re in the race.”
Pogačar has been out of action since La Flèche Wallone after family matters forced a DNS for the following Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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The Slovenian supremo likely will have been watching with intrigue as Primoz Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard dismantled the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Pogačar will want to head to the Tour on a high after seeing Roglič rampant last week.
The 23-year-old completed his recent high-altitude training in the Alps and has a new Colnago superbike ready to use. A victory in front of home fans this week would put the wind at his back ahead of the Tour’s tricky first phase.
“This Tour of Slovenia is an especially nice race for me,” he said. “Stage 4 passes through my hometown of Komenda. I obviously know the roads and climbs quite well and I look forward to seeing friends and family who will be out cheering the race.
“The parcours is tough and there will be strong rivals but hopefully we can pull off some good results along the way and enjoy a nice week of racing.”
Pogacar heads to this week’s five-day race with a number of top domestiques expected to be at his side in France.
Mikkel Bjerg, Rafal Majka, and Vegard Stake Laengen are all likely to travel from the Tour of Slovenia’s closing stage in Novo Mesto toward the Copenhagen Grand Départ.
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