Pogačar ready for his first stage race of the year: 'Every stage is a good one to attack'

After Sunday's win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tadej Pogačar has a new target in his sights: Tueasday's Tour de Romandie. The Swiss stage race is one of the few races the Slovenian has yet to add to his palmarès, something he has every intention of changing that. Speaking to Domestique, the world champion looked ahead to the week.

Pogačar's Liège victory was his fourth win of the season in just five race days. Only his second place at Paris-Roubaix has kept him from a perfect spring. He has not yet ridden a stage race this year. That changes this week in Romandie.

The five-day race through Switzerland suits the Slovenian perfectly, and he knows it. "Every stage is a good one to attack — but other teams will be thinking the same. There are so many chances this week, maybe even for a surprise attack. Every stage looks pretty good to give it a try," he warned the competition.

Pogačar has not come to Switzerland to take it easy, and he is not hiding his ambitions. "I always want to win. It's no secret that I want to win here in Romandie too." But the UAE leader is not staking everything on this one result. "Every race is different and it's always hard to fight for the win. We'll see how the week unfolds. If I don't win, it's not the end of the world."

The hunt for the overall title kicks off Tuesday with a 3.2-kilometre prologue — a Romandie tradition. This year, though, the second time trial is missing from the programme. "It's a hard course, and when we planned it back in December I was hoping for two time trials, as is usually the case," he said. For Pogačar, that removes an extra weapon from an otherwise varied parcours.

To win on debut, he will have to get past some serious competition. Lenny Martinez of Bahrain Victorious skipped Liège-Bastogne-Liège specifically to save himself for Romandie, and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe are bringing both Florian Lipowitz and Primož Roglič to the start in Villars-sur-Glâne. INEOS Grenadiers, meanwhile, are hoping Carlos Rodríguez and Oscar Onley can put a stop to Pogačar's march.

For the full Tour de Romandie start list check out this article.