Striking words from Pogacar on letting the stage win slip away: "We need to let everyone in the peloton have piece of the cake"

Pogacar emerged unscathed from the tenth stage of the Giro d'Italia, which was ultimately won by early escapee Valentin Paret-Peintre. The Slovenian wearer of the pink jersey was content with a group of escapees contending for the stage win, as he calmly rolled across the finish line in the wheel of his closest rivals.

"It's not like nothing special happened," began the interview with the UAE Team Emirates leader. "Bahrain Victorious had to do the work instead of us," Pogi continued, referring to the efforts of Antonio Tiberi's team (as early escapee Romain Bardet made significant jumps in the classification). "They set a good pace, and Antonio once again showed that he has a high level. His attacks are of a high standard. If he had had more confidence today, he could have gained more time on his rivals."

"For me, it was just another beautiful day in pink," concluded the man from Komenda during the press conference. He also emphasized once again that Tiberi is the man he is keeping an eye on the most. "That was my conclusion after Prati di Tivo (stage eight, ed.). He has shown that he is good and wants to attack. He's a rider with guts. Add to that his climbing abilities, and you have a serious outsider. I expect a lot from him."

Did UAE and Pogacar forego the stage win to keep everyone else happy?

At that very press conference, Pogacar also delved deeper into the team's decision not to chase the leading group and to shy away from the work (or leave it to other teams). "It was a fairly diplomatic decision not to ride for the stage win. But making such concessions doesn't necessarily make me happy," he surprisingly said. "We wanted to race in a way that would make everyone happy. It wasn't about whether I would win or not. We just rode more calmly, and that meant Bahrain Victorious had to do more work. We weren't in control on the final climb."

"I might prefer an approach where we determine how and what we do ourselves," he continued his striking story. "But there are many riders in the peloton, and we have a cake to share. Sometimes you get the chance, sometimes you don't. It's still a bit 50-50, but for example, on a Prati di Tivo, it was easier for us to go for the stage win. Still, we shouldn't be concerned with keeping everyone happy. We also need to think about what's to come."

The Giro continues with three relatively easy stages before we head into a new individual time trial and the queen stage. "We'll take it day by day," he says, maintaining a cautious approach. "I'm looking forward to the time trial and the subsequent mountain stages. Those are things to look forward to."