Tadej Pogačar on the upcoming 3 Tour de France stages and seeing his friend crash on stage 12: 'He was my pick'

Tadej Pogacar made it through the Tour de France’s final true flat stage unscathed. As the yellow jersey wearer, the Slovenian rider from UAE Emirates-XRG must fulfill several obligations after each day, including a flash interview. In it, he cautiously looked ahead to the days ahead in the Vosges and the Alps.

Pogacar had a close call during Wednesday’s stage—which was also flat—when he rode over a water bottle and thought he was already on the ground. Fortunately for the Slovenian, UAE Emirates-XRG, and all cycling fans, he didn’t fall and was able to complete Thursday’s stage as well, before the route gets more mountainous again.

"It was actually a very calm and good day, until Lidl-Trek decided to attack. From then on, the final stretch got pretty intense. Fortunately, everything went well for us, but I just realized how many guys crashed in the final stretch. I really hope they’re okay,” he began.

Among others, Pogacar saw his fellow Monegasque, Fernando Gaviria, lying on the ground, which really bummed him out. “My pick for today was Fernando. He was riding really strong, so I was really happy to see him doing so well. That’s why I was really bummed when I saw him lying on the ground. Hopefully everyone involved in the crash is okay,” Pogacar reiterated.

On Friday, the peloton will tackle the Ballon d'Alsace, which is a tough climb.“It’s a strange one. But anyway, we just have to get through it. I think the stages on Saturday and Sunday will be a lot more enjoyable,” says Pogacar, already looking past Friday.

Saturday’s stage ends at Le Markstein, where Pogacar staged a comeback in 2023 after being outpaced for several days by Jonas Vingegaard and Visma. One day later, the grueling stage to Plateau de Solaison is on the schedule. “I’ve done a few reconnaissance rides. Isaac (Del Toro, ed.) and I did them together, so I know those roads pretty well by now. We’ll see how it goes—in any case, I’m looking forward to it.”