'I'm happy to go home to Urska' said Pogačar reflective after Tour de Suisse win

If you’re as good as Tadej Pogacar, cycling must undoubtedly be fun. The Slovenian rider from UAE Team Emirates-XRG proved that once again on Sunday in Switzerland, opening up a lead of no less than 6.32 minutes over Richard Carapaz, who is in second place in the general classification. And now? “Home, to Urska (Zigart, ed.),” Pogi said in the flash interview.

Pogacar had actually already secured the overall victory on the first day, but he would add a stage win to that in the final stage. Lenny Martinez stayed out in front for a long time as part of the early breakaway, but was mercilessly dropped in the final kilometer by a world champion who had once again been denied the title.

Still, the Slovenian himself had a tough time of it on Sunday. “It was a really tough day. The course was really challenging, but we did a great job as a team. It got harder with every local lap. In the end, it was just a matter of going all out,” he said afterward.

His team received additional support from a French team. “Decathlon also tried to set a very fast pace on the final climb. We tried to keep that up and ride to the top at that speed. It was really a brutal day, especially with the heat”—it was once again very hot in Switzerland.

"That’s definitely good training for July," Pogacar noted. “This is probably what it’ll be like in the Tour, with that heat and all those elevation gains. It was really good to test my legs, heart, and lungs on the final climb. I went all out, and it was really tough, but it was a great climb.”

And now? “I’m happy with the stage win and the overall victory, but I’m also glad I can go home now, to Urska,” he said, referring to his girlfriend, who had taken a hard fall earlier this week in that same Tour de Suisse. “We’re going to take some time to recharge at home and do a few specific training sessions. Then we’ll be heading to Barcelona pretty soon.”