Tadej Pogacar can really only beat himself. At the 109th Tour de France, his competitors mainly rely on strong teams and ultimately hope for a tactical error by the dominator.
For Eddy Merckx he has long been his legitimate successor and “campionissimo”, Alberto Contador simply sees him as “a true cycling prodigy”.
When dominator Tadej Pogacar rolls off the starting ramp in cycling-mad Copenhagen on Friday, he will be the hunted superstar of the 109th Tour de France for three weeks. The only 23-year-old Slovenian is aiming for his third overall victory – and hardly any expert has any other ideas.
“When I’m at my very best, I know I’m competitive. But I never forget that in cycling you lose more often than you win,” said Pogacar. That may be true for most professional cyclists, but Pogacar just rides on a different level. That year he competed in three stage races and won them all. Add to that five starts in classics, where he won the Strade Bianche and his worst finish was a twelfth place in the Fléche Wallonne.
«True cycling prodigy»
“He’s a true cycling prodigy,” said two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador. The 39-year-old Spaniard now works as a TV expert and admires Pogacar’s lightness above all. “Tadej can deal with enormous stress as if he weren’t interested in it at all. He acts like it’s the most normal thing in the world. And I know from my own experience that pressure can be a real challenge.”
Many experts think Pogacar’s biggest opponent could be a corona infection. After all, there had recently been a number of positive cases. But in this respect, too, the danger for the Slovene is no longer that great after the world association UCI has adjusted the regulations. Before the start and on two rest days, all drivers and team members now only have to have rapid antigen tests instead of PCR tests. And even with a positive test, a driver is no longer automatically out. In exceptional cases, the chief doctor of the UCI and the Covid doctor of the tour operator ASO can decide that a driver may continue to drive provided he is not contagious.
When the 3,346.6-kilometer route was presented in October, the competition for chief challenger Primoz Roglic still had hope. After all, the wind-prone opening days in Denmark and the cobblestone stage next Wednesday were something to attack. But then Pogacar showed up at the Spring Classics and rode up front like he’d never done anything else. He only missed out on winning the Tour of Flanders due to a tactical error.
Roglic aggressive
The competition is now hoping for this in the next three weeks and wants to meet the child prodigy from the village of Komenda with strength as a team. “We have many drivers with very high quality. Now we have to work well together. We firmly believe that we can beat Tadej,” said Roglic. The 32-year-old leads the Jumbo-Visma team and has Jonas Vingegaard, who was probably the strongest mountain assistant in the entire peloton, at his side in last year’s second place.
Roglic and Vingegaard are arguably the only pros who could pose a threat to Pogacar. But the duo has to set an example at the 13.2-kilometer opening time trial in Copenhagen and distance Pogacar. And if only for a few seconds. Mentally, they should play a big role, especially since the pressure is initially on the big favorites. For Alexander Wlasow, captain of the German team Bora-hansgrohe, it should only be about third place despite an outstanding season so far. The same applies to the 2018 winner Geraint Thomas.
The manner of Pogacar’s win last year has been etched in the minds of the competition. It’s not just the Slovenian’s ease with which he races up the steep passes in the Alps and Pyrenees. Pogacar also never seems to have bad luck. He never gets sick and has never had a bad fall. “Considering he’s only 23 years old, his skills are incredible. It’s getting harder and harder to describe this boy in words. It’s spectacular and formidable,” said former Über driver Eddy Merckx. For the Belgian, Pogacar has long been a “campionissimo”, a master of all masters.
The first difficult mountain test will come next Friday when the ski slope with a gradient of up to 24 percent goes up to La Super Planche des Belles Filles. A magical place for Pogacar, because that’s where he got the yellow jersey on the penultimate stage in 2020 and snatched the victory that Roglic thought was certain. “I can’t say I can repeat my win there. But if there’s a chance, I’ll definitely try.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
