Pogacar enjoyed seeing thousands of fans during new masterclass: "The guy with the chainsaw almost burned me though"

The twentieth stage of this Giro d'Italia saw Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) secure his sixth stage win of the race in a most impressive manner. The pink jersey wearer broke away from the group of favorites five kilometers from the top of the second climb of Monte Grappa and finished more than two minutes ahead of Daniel Felipe Martinez (BORA-hansgrohe) and Geraint Thomas. With this victory, Pogacar extended his lead over his GC competitors to almost ten (!) minutes. Un-be-lie-va-ble!

A kiss from his wife Urska Zigart, lifting his Colnago bike in the air, and a round of congratulations from his UAE Emirates team: Tadej Pogacar showed zero signs of fatigue after the particularly tough mountain stage that featured a double climb up Monte Grapp. "This was absolutely the plan," the Slovenian champion said in the flash interview. "From the beginning, everything went perfectly: Molano and Oliveira did a perfect job up to the foot of the first climb of Monte Grappa and didn't let any big groups of attackers break away. Then Vegard Stake Laengen and Mikkel Bjerg set a good pace on the first climb, and things continued to go well all the way to the top."

Pogacar recaps latest masterclass: "Wanted to finish the Giro with a good performance"

Pogacar continued his account of the day. "On the descent, we didn't take any risks, so everything went as we had planned in the meeting beforehand. I also had good legs, so I decided to attack on the second climb, and I was glad that I had enough of a lead at the top so that I didn't have to take too many risks on the second descent."

Read more below the tweet.

The Slovenian grandmaster gradually extended his lead, so he already had almost a two-minute lead over his closest GC rivals on the descent. This gave him some time to reward a young fan for a strong physical effort with a water bottle and to encourage some older fans close to the finish. "I can't even describe how beautiful it was seeing so many fans on the climb. Because we were close to Slovenia, I had expected many Slovenian fans, but it was really crazy. I saw many familiar and less familiar faces, and I even got a bit emotional. The fifteen to seventeen-year-younger Tadej Pogacar would have loved to get a water bottle and be so close to his heroes. The boy now was lucky that I saw him, but I also realize it means a lot to them. He will remember this for the rest of his life."

Pogacar enjoyed seeing thousands of fans on Monte Grappa: "Some gave me a fairly hard punch"

On Monte Grappa itself, some fans went a bit over the top. "I couldn't even say anything on the radio, that is how loud it was on the climb. Sometimes they came so close that they touched me or gave me a fairly hard punch. Then you have to keep your balance to stay on your bike. There was also someone with a chainsaw, and he almost burned me with the sparks."

Continue reading below the tweet.

Pogacar made a point out of controlling the penultimate stage. Not just for himself, but also for the team. "It might not have been that important to win again, but we had held the pink jersey since the second stage. That brought many obligations and a lot of work for the guys, and for me personally, today was another test for the summer to see how things went. I wanted to finish the Giro in good form and with a good mentality. That worked out."

Tomorrow, Pogacar faces a pure walk in the park with a flat stage through the streets of Rome. "We'll see how it goes. I've never been there, and hopefully, it won't rain. Hopefully, I can help Molano to get a stage win, but that will be difficult. And then we go home as fast as possible," he concluded the flash interview with a joke.

Pogacar after sixth stage win: "One of my best grand tours ever"

In the end, Pogacar just missed the ten-minute mark. The UAE team leader's lead over second-placed Daniel Felipe Martinez is now nine minutes and 56 seconds. "That was absolutely not a goal, because having a ten-minute lead is not a milestone or anything like that," he responded at the press conference. "It's not important. If you win by one second, that's also enough. But also, hats off to the guys in second and third place because they fought hard too."

Continue reading below the tweet.

The two-time Tour winner wanted to make clear that not everything is as it seems. "Not everything went smoothly, quite the opposite! It was three tough weeks, and after the stage in Naples, I was also a bit sick. Both on and off the bike, I had difficult moments, not everything went smoothly."

So what is the secret recipe or the difference compared to the last Tour de France? The change of coach? "I can't disclose everything I've done differently. With the previous coach, I always trained very well, but this year I've focused more on my body and less on the bike. That was ultimately a good change, but you shouldn't place too much importance on it. This year, I took another step forward, and I am very happy and proud to see improvements in my level. I am still growing, and as I get older, I gain more experience. I felt great and can say that this was one of my best grand tours ever. Hopefully, I can maintain this mentality for the upcoming races."

Rafal Majka: "Tadej is just superman"

Super-domestique Rafal Majka was the one who gave the final push for his leader five kilometers from the top of Monte Grappa. "Everything went perfectly," the experienced Pole told Eurosport's camera. "All the guys were incredible and put in impressive performances. On Monte Grappa, I just went full throttle, and then Tadej went for it. Yeah, what can I say? He is just Superman. It's unbelievable. He just wins the Giro d'Italia. Hopefully, it will be fun in Rome tomorrow, and I am also happy that I can see my family and children again because it has already been three weeks."

Fellix Grosschartner: "We didn't have to communicate much"

For Felix Grosschartner, it was "an honor to be part of a team like that and to be a domestique for a leader like Tadej Pogacar. We didn't have to communicate much. Everyone knew their task. As a team, we delivered a strong performance, and of course, Tadej also delivered. Of course, it is also hard for him, and of course, he also suffers, but his level is incredible. We may not have the most well-known names as domestiques, but we form a strong unit. Because of that, we knew it would turn out well."

All UAE riders, Pogacar included, will ride through the streets of Rome in pink tomorrow, at least to some extent. "I don't know how much pink there will be exactly," the Austrian joked. "Pogacar can't possibly wear any more pink. After that, we'll recover well and hopefully, I'll see him from my couch on TV taking the Giro-Tour double."