Fasten your seatbelts, Pogacar announces one more thermonuclear attack for his people: "Solo would be a dream"

Nobody has ever experienced such a relaxed third week of a grand tour as Tadej Pogacar in this Giro d'Italia. The Slovenian of UAE-Team Emirates made a move before the second rest day, in the stage toward Livigno, creating an ideal situation for himself: sometimes playing around a bit, but mainly saving energy in his legs. His goal is to bring the pink jersey to Rome, but he also has his eye on Saturday's mountain stage, where he intends to strike one last time.

The nineteenth stage was quite relaxed for the pink jersey holder. While the front-runners went full throttle from start to finish in hopes of a stage victory, UAE-Team Emirates gave them a fifteen-minute lead to sort it out among themselves. "It was a day in control, but not so pleasant with some rain and cold towards the end," he said with a smile after the race, speaking to the media in the mixed zone.

On the second rest day, Pogacar expressed hope that he could take things easy in the third week. With the Tour de France already on his mind, he couldn't help himself on day sixteen (stage win) and seventeen (second place and some time gained). On Friday, he rode around smiling and joking, with many Slovenian flags already lining the route. "I think I've seen ninety percent of my hometown next to the road here. So many Slovenian flags, Pogi Team... Really brilliant, tomorrow will be really cool too."

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One more time for Slovenia, Pogacar says

Pogacar knows that Saturday's finish is relatively close to Slovenia. The riders have to cross Monte Grappa twice and finish in Bassano del Grappa. As the crow flies, that's just a two-hour drive to the Slovenian border. The starting location, Alpago, is even closer. Pogacar, therefore, expects many compatriots to be roadside. "It's the last day for climbers, with many Slovenian flags. A beautiful day for us Slovenians, so let's see how it goes. The most beautiful thing would be a solo, but you never know. Maybe someone will be stronger than me, but we will definitely try."

There, he actually said it. Pogacar has made no secret in recent days of the fact that he wants to strike on Saturday. Pushing a hundred thousand watts, one last time. "If we have the opportunity, yes. Today we were conservative and didn’t waste much energy. Let’s see if we have good legs on Saturday. It's going to be a tough race, but we're ready for it. The stage victory will definitely be for a climber. If I can give the Italian fans another gift with a stage win, then I would love to give it to them. And all the other supporters who back us, too. It's been a great Giro, it will be a celebration tomorrow."