Pogacar apologizes after Netflix outburst at Vingegaard: "That’s not how I meant it"

“The past five years have been quite intense. It’s a nice rivalry, and I think it will be the same again this year,” Pogacar starts his story at the opera house in Lille. “It will be interesting to see if we can extend our dominance, but you never know, maybe someone will surprise us in the next three weeks. I’m looking forward to racing against Jonas and all the others on all terrains. It’s going to be a beautiful month for the people watching the Tour.”

This year alone, Pogacar has already won the UAE Tour, Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Critérium du Dauphiné, bringing his career tally to 99 professional victories. A stage win in this Tour would mark his (already) hundredth victory at just 26 years old. “It’s already been a very good season, perfect even. After the Dauphiné, I went to Isola 2000 with the team. We had a good training camp there and trained well. Then I spent four or five days at home, which was also nice. Just a bit of normal life before the madness starts.”

When you mention Pogacar and the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard quickly comes to mind as well. “I feel honored to start as the top favorite and I hope to live up to those expectations. Are there aspects where Jonas is better? For me, he’s the best on the long climbs, but he also rides better time trials at times. We’ll see in this Tour exactly how we match up.”

In the Netflix series released on Wednesday about last year’s Tour, there was a moment where Pogacar shouted “f*ck you” at Vingegaard. The Slovenian was glad he could clarify this on Thursday. “It’s not nice to flip out at someone, but in the heat of the moment you sometimes say something you regret. I didn’t mean it that way. In the peloton, a lot gets shouted when everyone is stressed or frustrated. That just happens in those moments, and I think it’s also healthy in a sporting sense.”

“As Visma and UAE, we’ve battled each other a lot, and things happen sometimes, but at the end of the day, we have a lot of respect for each other, and that will remain so.”

This year, the first week will be the same story again. “It’s going to be very nervous, and we’re prepared for that. Every stage where I can gain time, I see as an opportunity, but at the same time, the main goal in that first part is not to lose time,” said the Slovenian.

Pogacar knows all too well that the real challenge lies in the second part. “We have quite a few uphill finishes. The last week in the Alps seems the toughest to me, the queen stage has 5,500 meters of climbing,” he said, referring to the stage to Col de la Loze. “That’s the hardest and worst stage for me, but hopefully I feel good on that day. Right now, I feel ready for it.”

And then there’s the final stage in Paris, which this season will be raced on a circuit more suited to classics riders. “When I heard that the stage in Paris would be changed, I immediately thought that many riders wouldn’t like it. For me, it doesn’t matter much. I think by then the general classification will already be settled, and there will be mutual respect among the riders. But it could also be that the Tour is still decided there on those narrow roads, although even on the ‘normal’ Champs-Elysées you always had to stay focused.”