Pogacar without TT helmet, TT handlebars, and earpieces was a choice made after months of stress: "This time trial was a big question mark"
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Follow us on GoogleIt was somewhat expected, but Tadej Pogacar once again delivered an impressive climbing time trial in the thirteenth stage to Peyragudes. The Slovenian rider from UAE Team Emirates - XRG was more than half a minute faster than his rival Jonas Vingegaard. He was over the moon with his performance, explaining that it was not as easy as it looked.
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“I'm super happy, yes,” Pogacar cheered after the finish in the flash interview. “This time trial was a big question mark, ever since December. I wanted everything to be perfect here. The team really delivered, right up to the last moment. I started the day well, had an easy morning, and I really wanted to go all out from start to finish. I wanted to stay on the pedals as much as possible. I nearly blew myself up on the last bit, but I saw the timer at the top, which gave me an extra push: I saw that I was going to win."
Some riders started on upgraded time trial bikes, while others, like Pogacar, opted for a standard road bike. "That was the biggest decision to make: which bike should I take? We race on road bikes 99.9% of the time. We did some calculations, and if you can't push as hard on a time trial bike as you can on a road bike, you end up with about the same time. I decided to ride more comfortably, the way I had for the last 12 days. That worked for me."
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How I felt guided me in the time trial: "I only had the intermediate points as a reference"
The feeling had to be right, and that was ultimately the guideline for the yellow jersey wearer in the time trial, who now has a lead of more than four minutes over his closest rival in the GC. "I decided to ride without a radio because I just wanted to go full throttle from the foot of the climb. I only had the time at the intermediate points as a reference. At the first one, I was already 5 seconds faster, which motivated me. At the second one, it was already a little more, so I knew my pace was good."
Pogacar did have a difficult moment along the way. In the final kilometers, he felt that he was on the verge of collapse. “Of course, I didn't want to overexert myself at the beginning, which almost happened at the end. Between kilometers 3 and 2 before the finish, I took a deep breath, was able to reset a bit, and ease up on the power a little. I knew that the final kick was very steep. I wanted to get there with my legs feeling good.”
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Pogacar gives breakaway riders hope, but only a little bit
With four stage wins already secured, the big question is: how motivated will Pogacar remain in the difficult stages ahead? On Saturday, there is another Pyrenees stage, followed by a trip through the Alps in the third week. “The most important thing now is to stay calm and keep the yellow jersey, with the lead we have. We'll see how the race unfolds. We have a strong team, so we're going into the stage with confidence. Let's try not to ruin it," Pogacar laughed on VTM.
In doing so, the dominant Slovenian gives the breakaway riders, with ambitions for the upcoming mountain stages, a bit of hope. Will UAE Team Emirates-XRG let a breakaway group go? “That depends on who attacks and how the team feels. If the breakaway group is strong enough, they can always make it, because we are usually the only team that has to control the race. The breakaway riders have a chance, as always.”
In the press conference that followed in the mixed zone, Pogacar took some of those words back. 'The team pays you to win, not to hand out victories. If I decided to do that, my team wouldn't be happy. If there's a chance to win the stage, we'll go for it. I won't make any friends doing so. I don't want to make enemies either. But anyway, after my career, I won't be talking to 99 percent of this peloton anymore, and I'll focus on my close friends and family," HLN writes.
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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