Pogačar isn't counting his Tour de France chickens yet: 'You can lose 30 minutes in a single stage'

It was another Tadej Pogačar day at the Tour de France— the third stage win for the Slovenian rider from UAE Team Emirates. With this victory, the world champion has tightened his grip on the Tour de France even further. But he’s not counting his chickens just yet. He knows better than anyone, Paris is still a long way off. In any case, Pogi had some comments after yet another remarkable stage.

"It was truly an incredible day today. The team did a fantastic job. We’d had our sights set on this stage for a long time," Pogačar said after the race. “Two years ago, Jonas beat me here in the sprint— fair and square —and today I had a similar feeling in my legs during the final stretch: I was really completely spent.”

"But I really enjoyed the day. In the final stretch, I didn't realize I was going to win until the very last kilometer. That's when it occurred to me that it was Bastille Day , and I wanted to do the yellow jersey justice. I also want to thank all the fans who lined the route in droves today,” Pogacar said, addressing the French people.

And yet, things didn’t go entirely smoothly along the way. “It’s funny, because we were testing new earbuds today. But whenever there were really big crowds, I couldn’t hear a thing over the radio. So for the last ten kilometers, I had absolutely no idea what the time gaps were or who was doing what.”

"The only thing I was thinking was: keep going until the top. I knew the climb very well—we’d scouted it just yesterday," Pogi continued. “But there was a little bit of doubt in the back of my mind because of that finish two years ago. Jonas came back then, and I’d been completely left behind in the sprint. That was definitely still on my mind right up until the last few hundred meters.”

And so Pogačar has had a perfect Tour so far. “This course suits us very well. Today, for example, was a perfect climb for each of our riders, allowing everyone to do their job perfectly. In the end, I was able to finish it off nicely. Isaac (Del Toro, who did lose time, ed.) also did a great job. He tried to keep up with the rest; he’s a real fighter and is still very much in the running for the top spots.”

The world champion elaborated on this during the press conference. “So far, the Tour has been very well suited to our strengths—for me, but also for Isaac and me together. That’s been our advantage over the first 10 days. We’ll see what happens when the big mountains come, with Alpe d’Huez and the stage to Le Markstein. Those are pure climbing days.”

His legs are in great shape, but how does Pogačar view his competitors? “I can’t say anything about my competitors’ form. I can say, though, that I’m in good shape.” He hopes to maintain that form during the mountain stages. “But I’m sure the competition will also be ready for the big mountains.”

Pogacar isn't counting his chickens just yet. “I have to stay very focused and not get ahead of myself. Anything can happen in a single day. You can lose 30 minutes in a single stage. We’ll see how my form develops, but I hope it stays this way,” said the winner of the tenth stage of the Tour de France.