Tadej Pogačar to keep rolling across Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Slovenian star wraps up his spring campaign with a return to the Ardennes in final races until June and Tour de France defense in July.
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Tadej Pogačar looks to keep his spring campaign rolling this week across the Ardennes at Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday.
Pogačar is racing for the first time since his dramatic debut at the Tour of Flanders and a preview of the cobblestones that will be featured in the Tour de France.
“We’re coming back to the Ardennes with great memories from last year. It’s a period I look back on with great fondness. To take the win in Liège was like a dream and I feel a nice connection with this race,” Pogačar said.
“Since the Tour of Flanders the next day I went to test the pavé sectors for the Tour de France which was an exciting experience. They are quite hard but it’s good to have an idea of what to expect before the Tour,” he added. “Then I had a couple of days break. Since UAE Tour I raced quite a lot so it was nice to get back home and train normally, it’s a part of the job I enjoy so to have a bit of a routine was nice.”
Also read: How to watch Flèche Wallonne
Also racing for a deep UAE Emirates squad is Diego Ulissi, former Flèche winner Marc Hirschi, and George Bennett, who parachutes in for “Le Doyenne.”
Pogačar’s raced Flèche three times, with ninth in 2020, and will start Liège on Sunday with the No. 1 bib as defending champion which he won last spring in an elite, five-rider group.
“For these Ardennes races we have a very dynamic team,” he said. “The form is good and I think I can do well but on a whole the team is very strong and we’ll have options which is always an advantage.”
Pogačar isn’t expected to race again until the Tour of Slovenia in June ahead of his Tour defense in July. The Vuelta a España is also on the tentative calendar later in the 2022 season.
UAE for Flèche Wallonne:
Juan Ayuso (Spa)
Marc Hirschi (Swi)
Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
Tadej Pogačar (Slo)
Jan Polanc (Slo)
Marc Soler (Spa)
Diego Ulissi (Ita)
UAE for Liège-Bastogne-Liège:
George Bennett (NZ)
Marc Hirschi (Swi)
Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
Tadej Pogačar (Slo)
Jan Polanc (Slo)
Marc Soler (Spa)
Diego Ulissi (Ita)