Pogačar overjoyed to beat Van der Poel: 'Didn't realise I was fighting for the win'

It was a close call, but Tadej Pogacar still managed to secure his second stage victory in the Tour de Suisse. The Slovenian rider from UAE Team Emirates-XRG was just barely faster than Mathieu van der Poel in the time trial, who finished only 0.31 seconds behind the yellow jersey wearer. Pogacar was overjoyed with his latest victory and is already setting his sights on a hat trick on Sunday.

Van der Poel held the lead for a long time, but by the halfway point he had already seen Pogacar and Matthias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) pass him. When the Czech rider clung on to his time, he had reason to hope—but that hope was quickly dashed when Pogacar was just a bit faster at the finish. Pogacar also solidified his lead in the general classification.

It certainly wasn't easy. "It was a very hot day, and a very fast course. I felt great; my legs were strong," Pogacar said in the flash interview. “I didn’t know I was fighting for the win; I was just giving it my all. I knew I was close, but after the first intermediate sprint, I had no idea what the times were. I went full throttle to the finish, and it worked out. I’m very happy with the victory.”

After already winning the opening stage in dominant fashion, this was the world champion’s second victory in his Tour de Suisse debut. “It’s pretty good,” he says dryly. “It’s a nice race, and I’m glad I got my second win; in the final stage, we’ll see if we can snag another one.” The only blemish on the race was, of course, the hard crash suffered by his partner, Urska Zigart.

With just one stage to go, Pogacar is all but certain to win the overall title, but he won’t settle for just the yellow jersey. In the grueling queen stage—where, after the start in Villars-sur-Ollon, the Col de la Croix must be climbed twice in full and twice in part—he’s aiming for a third victory. And it seems no one can stand in his way.

But with the heat and the 4,500 meters of elevation gain, it’s not going to be an easy day anyway. “It’s a brutal stage, completely different from what we’ve had in the previous days. I’m really looking forward to seeing how my legs hold up in the high mountains; today was a flat time trial. Tomorrow is one of the toughest mountain stages ever, so we’ll see.”