Tadej Pogacar (Klanec, Slovenia, 23 years old) has just signed a tremendous 2021 of 13 victories, with his second Tour, two monuments, Liege and Lombardy, and an Olympic bronze. After the presentation of the French appointment of 2022, he attended AS in Paris.
As the champion of the 2020 and 2021 Tours de France, you captured the spotlight at the presentation of the 2022 edition. What did you think of the tour?
It proposes different alternatives and all types of terrain: time trial, flat, with danger of wind, cobblestones, mid-mountain, explosive climbs, traditional ports … I love challenges, I will fight for another title, and apart from the Tour Femmes, with opportunities for Urska (Zigart, her partner, currently at Mitchelton) and the other girls.
He made his debut in Lombardy and closed the campaign with his second monument, after Liege, and as top scorer in 2021 with 13 wins (tied with Roglic and Van Aert).
I really have no words. As a kid I competed at the Piccolo Lombardía and finished seventh. From then, and from other one-day tests, I know I can do well in these types of races. However, it was very difficult. In the second part of the season my form was fluctuating, without regularity, with good days and others less brilliant. I must improve that aspect.
From his analysis it is clear that he does not want to focus solely on the Tour, but on winning throughout the course.
Yes that’s how it is. In the stage rounds I do my best every day, but I love the classics. It is a different style of looking for victories, you never know what may happen, from one year to the next or with different routes. Perhaps strength and instinct count more, in the three weeks recovery and equipment matter more. I still have to learn … although that motivates me.
Where does so much ambition come from?
Every time I put on a bib I only think of offering my 100%, even if I am not at my best. I take my sport seriously, I want to be competitive and always win, even though it is not normal to always win.
Thanks to his successes, his name is linked to that of Coppi, Merckx or Hinault.
I don’t run to make history, but to get the best of me and have fun. I don’t like comparisons either. I try not to go around these things, just do my job. I don’t think my life has changed after the two Tours. I have a healthy environment, my girlfriend, family and friends, and attending to the media or advertising commitments is part of my profession. I also try to sign autographs. The fans make us stars… and for them our gesture is an immense joy.
Are you afraid of letting them down? Do you understand that such dominating cyclists are doubted?
I understand the situation. I know where my sport comes from, although I will not tire of saying that I see cycling on the right track to regain the faith of the fans. And I speak for myself, and I’m a good boy who doesn’t take shortcuts. I hope that the public will trust my performance and my record.
How do you assess the praise of Merckx, which claims that it has the conditions to beat its marks?
(Thoughtful). Bufff… they give me the creeps and they make me proud. If someone like him, who is unanimously listed as the greatest ever, expresses himself that way about you … I run hungry, like Eddy in his time, and I will do so responsibly and honored by his words.
Recently renewed until 2027.
Yes, the UAE bet on me, and I bet on the UAE. Obviously, they have increased my salary and I appreciate it, but my performance or my happiness does not depend on the money. I still consider myself a kid who enjoys his sport, who experiences similar sensations to when he climbed or sprinted on the bike as a child against his colleagues.
And in 2022 will you bet on the third Tour?
Of the big three, I fix that it will be included in my program. For this 2021 we plan La Vuelta, although I finally ended up very tired from the Tour and the Games. Who knows if in 2022 we will fulfill it. I find it easier to double Tour and Vuelta than Giro and Tour. The Giro demands a lot and can drain you. I intend to return to Spain and discover Italy, but the Tour will mean the central point of my preparation.
Although you are already treated like an international superstar in Paris, do you and Roglic’s triumphs serve to overtake Luka Doncic in popularity in Slovenia?
(Laughs) I would say no… I don’t know him personally, we only contacted him for some charity projects and he looks like a very good boy. With the bicycle it does not surpass us, but surely it does in repercussion in our country and in the NBA.
