Pogacar blames UAE for minor crash, team boss has bad news for riders dreaming of stage win

Tadej Pogacar, the top favorite, more than lived up to his role on day two of the Giro d'Italia. Despite a minor crash on the approach to the final climb to Oropa, UAE-Team Emirates executed a flawless plan, which Pogacar completed in style. It was the first blow to his rivals, and the big question now is: what next?

Pogacar was already the big favorite before the Giro, and the first two days have only confirmed this. Although he was surprisingly beaten by Jhonatan Narváez in the first stage, on the final climb to Oropa the next day, he was unstoppable. "After winning the Tour de France, it was my dream to also win a stage in the Giro d'Italia. That has always been on my mind. Winning a stage in all three grand tours is not something many riders can say. It's a big deal in cycling. I'm super happy with it," the Slovenian said, beaming from ear to ear after his stage win.

Everyone could see Pogacar's move coming. UAE-Team Emirates controlled large parts of the race, although they also received help from INEOS Grenadiers. Team boss Joxean Matxin told IDLProCycling.com that his team patiently waited and had a plan in mind. "Saturday was very explosive, an effort of less than five minutes. A climb for punchers, for Narváez or Alaphilippe. Today was different, with a longer climb and the plan to go full throttle with Rafal Majka 5.5 kilometers out from the finish. Twelve minutes full throttle, to avoid getting into the punchers' territory. We wanted to drop them."

And they did so brilliantly. "The plan was already to win the stage on Saturday, but I fell short. It was fantastic work by the team," the new wearer of the pink jersey says at the press conference. Matxin watched contentedly as his leader kept his legs well controlled. "Tadej is perfect for all scenarios, so he always wants to win. If it were up to him, he would have attacked on the Maddelena on Saturday, but I told him this is the Giro d'Italia, a 21-day race. We need to be prepared for what's to come. In this stage, we went for the pink and the stage win."

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Pogacar and UAE on crash and retaining the pink jersey

The fact that Pogacar went down in a curve during the final was something the rider and team boss could laugh about afterwards. "I stayed calm. I got a flat tire from a hole in the road. The wheel was also broken," the protagonist explains. He points a finger at his team. "There was some confusion. I wanted to stop before the turn, not after, as the team leader thought. Then I fell, but it was nothing serious. I felt good and the team was strong. They brought me back to the front. After that, we rode at a punishing pace and everything went perfectly," he said in the flash interview. At the press conference, he added, "It was not a good decision to stop after the turn, but it was no big deal."

In short: a successful day! "I wanted the stage win, to gain some time, and test my legs. Getting the pink was the dream. Now the team and I can relax a bit over the next few days," concludes Pogacar. The big question now is: will he give up the leader's jersey? "After the gravel stage (day six, ed.) and the time trial (day seven, ed.), we'll see what the differences are and who our competitors are," says Matxin. "The Tour de France is not in our minds, we agreed on that before the Giro. We respect this race and if you start thinking about the Tour, you lose the mentality and focus needed to win this race."

That may not bode well for the rest of the pack. They will hope for Pogacar to slow down at some point. "It's not difficult to slow him down, he's a very intelligent guy. He can read the race and his rivals very well," continues Matxin, who nevertheless does not see why UAE would stop winning. "Of course, Tadej wants to win the gravel stage. We start every day to win." The leader himself is more cautious. "The gravel stage will mainly be about not losing time, not necessarily gaining it. The time trial the next day is a different story. I will do my best and then we will see what the rivals do. Geraint Thomas is a specialist, I'm curious what he will do. I don't ride many time trials, but I aim for the maximum. I've scouted it and can't wait."