Tadej Pogačar on closest Tour de France rival: 'He lacks that extra punch, that extra grit'

After his fourth stage victory in the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar gave some interesting answers to questions at the press conference. The yellow jersey wearer from UAE Emirates-XRG was once again dominant and thus joined the press as both the stage winner and the overall leader after Stage 14.

Pogacar has been wearing the yellow jersey since Stage 4, and although he briefly lost it the next day, he has held a solid lead ever since the Stage 6 climb over the Tourmalet. His stage victory at Le Markstein was already his fourth in this Tour de France, which, according to the Slovenian, was inspired by his fiancée Urska.

In Stage 12, Pogacar said he had a tough time. “I felt like shit,” he admitted on Saturday. Urska Zigart cheered on her fiancé, and that helped Pogi regain his physical and mental motivation to race. “I was already feeling a little better yesterday, but after that mental boost, I felt great today.”

After his stage victory, Pogacar said in the flash interview that he had deliberately waited a long time on the Col du Haag. He let Decathlon CMA CGM and Visma | Lease a Bike set the pace because his shadow leader, Isaac del Toro, wasn’t having a great day. As a result, Jonas Vingegaard spent a long time at the front.

Less than 2 kilometers from the summit, Pogacar made his move, already expecting that Vingegaard wouldn’t be able to keep up. According to Pogacar, the Dane was “setting a good pace at the front,” as his bike computer confirmed. But the Slovenian could go even faster. “Jonas is very good, but I think he’s missing something.”

Pogacar then compares it to previous years, when Vingegaard was often on par with his rival on the climbs. In this Tour de France, the Visma team leader hasn’t been able to keep up with Pogacar for even a moment. “He lacks that extra punch, that extra grit. But I’m certainly not ruling him out for the days ahead.”

Pogacar even went so far as to say that Vingegaard still has room to improve and that he might even be able to keep up with the Dane, but everyone knows better. The overall leader is toying with his rivals and even seemed to be smiling on the Col du Haag as he launched his attack.

According to the lead actor, that wasn't the case. "When I'm struggling on the bike, I do this," he said, mimicking a smiling mouth with his thumb. “People think I’m smiling, but that’s just how my face looks when I’m struggling and feeling good. That smile isn’t there when I’m completely drained.”