Utterly dominant, yet Pogacar considered quitting the Tour midway due to injury: "I'd had enough"

Pogacar started the Tour de France as the top favorite, and after a fantastic first week, he more than lived up to that status. Two stage wins in the first seven days were followed by two stage wins in the Pyrenees, after which he easily defended his lead over Jonas Vingegaard in the Alps. But in the Tour 202 podcast, he opens up about the difficulties he encountered during the race.

“The Tour is really something special, exhausting, long, stressful... sometimes I say that the Tour is a necessity for every team,” Pogacar laughs. “This year was the fastest Tour in history, if I'm not mistaken. Every day was stressful, an extremely demanding route in the first ten days, full of pitfalls, loops, final climbs, it was hectic...”

“And then came the second week, where the route was tailor-made for me, and everything went great. And then came the last week,” said the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader. “I really wanted another victory in the Alps, especially in the stage on the Col de la Loze, to take revenge for the defeat two years ago... but to be honest, not everything went according to plan.”

Because just before that, Pogacar was considering dropping out. “The day after the stage that finished on Mont Ventoux, my knee started to bother me and I began to doubt whether I could continue at all, whether I could keep up with the queen stage, and then the stage that finished on La Plagne, on top of that the weather was extremely bad, it was cold and my body went into survival mode.”

“I was retaining fluid because my body was in shock,” he continues. “I'd had enough, I really wasn't feeling my best. But I think every cyclist who has ever ridden a Grand Tour knows that three weeks is really tough. After the first week, you're already tired, and then there are two more to go. I don't think anyone comes home rested, especially after the Tour de France.”

Thanks to the people around him, Pogacar can maintain his level. “I think my team deserves a big thank you; together, we put a very good program. They give me free rein, and with Urska attending the preparations, I almost feel at home. Of course, it's tiring to do everything at the highest level, but I think we've found the right balance, so I'm not too ‘burnt out’ at the end of the season.”