Shaken Pogacar avoids media after Žigart crash: 'Didn't really have the mind-set to race'

Tadej Pogacar showed well once again at the Tour de Suisse, but came just short of winning stage two. Ultimately, that will have mattered little to the Slovenian, whose partner Urška Žigart had suffered a heavy crash earlier in the day. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader avoided the media afterwards and was visibly shaken.

Pogacar attacked in the finale after first working in support of Jhonatan Narváez. When Narváez couldn't hold the pace any longer, the Slovenian pressed on himself. Together with Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), he ultimately fell just seconds short of catching the early breakaway, where Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) proved the strongest.

The yellow jersey holder then stayed away from the microphones. "Today was a crazy day, with a very strong breakaway at the front," Pogacar said via a statement from his team. "The plan was to go for Jhonny, or for me, or even Brandon in the finale. We tried with several options, but the breakaway was so strong that we had to go all in. Chapeau to the teammates, they did a fantastic job."

It was very nearly Pogacar's second stage win. "We showed that we're strong, so I'm happy with the performance. We just came up a little short. It's a pity, because we had good legs. But it is what it is, we go again for the next stage. Tomorrow we have the yellow jersey to defend, the stage is a little easier. The finale should be for the sprinters. We'll see."

That’s why Pogacar is hoping to get some rest. Especially with the tough weekend ahead, which starts with a time trial on Saturday, followed by the queen stage to wrap things up. “I hope it’s a little easier than the last two days. Then we have the grand finale on Saturday and Sunday.”

So not a word about Zigart. She broke her jaw, but it could have been much worse. Pogacar spoke with her before the start of his own stage, which allowed him to start the second stage. After the finish, he hopped on the rollers, where he immediately reached for his phone, likely to check for an update. There, a frustrated Pogacar pushed a camera out of his face.