Pogacar drops everyone even after a week without training: “Was a bit afraid to travel to Canada”

That may sound odd, since Pogacar had UAE Team Emirates-XRG ride full gas all day and sent McNulty up the road. He then attacked himself. “I saw that Brandon was really strong, just like the whole team today. We thinned out the peloton quite quickly because we were riding such a high tempo. And then I told Brandon that if he wanted to go, he could attack,” he analyzed afterward.

“I joined him at the top of the climb. Together we pushed on,” continued the rainbow jersey wearer. “When I got out front alone, Brandon managed to bridge across, and then it was pretty clear who would win. It was probably the slowest sprint of my career, yeah,” he said laughing.

Pogacar and McNulty put third-place Quinn Simmons (Lidl–Trek) more than a minute behind, but according to Pogi it was still quite surprising that he performed so well after a rather disappointing GP Québec. “I was a bit afraid to travel to Canada, because last week I was sick the entire week. I couldn’t complete my planned training sessions, so I didn’t know what my form would be like here.”

At the press conference, with Sporza among those present, Pogacar admitted: “My legs weren’t great, but I gained some confidence here. So it was a good choice to come after all.” Especially since UAE, with the win in Montréal, equaled HTC-Columbia’s 2009 record of 85 victories in a season. “We’re super proud of all those wins.”

As Pogacar explained: “It’s been a very successful season for the team, with many guys getting the chance to win, and they’ve taken those chances. They’ve shown how hard they work; almost everyone in our team already has a victory.”