After securing a debut Giro victory, a third Tour win is Pog’s next target
After securing a crushing Giro d’Italia victory on his debut, Tadej Pogačar will not race again before heading to Florence for the Tour de France Grand Départ in just over four weeks’ time.
The Slovenian will now focus on rest and recovery before a final altitude training camp at Isola 2000 in the French Alps. After three weeks in the high mountains, he’ll return to Italy to kickstart phase two of his plan to become the first man to do the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998.
It won’t have gone unnoticed by his Tour rivals that the 25-year-old was unmatchable throughout the Giro, winning six stages and giving the impression he could have won more.
He ran riot in the mountain stages, prompting his team to ask him to calm down once he had built an unassailable lead by the end of the second week.
UAE management told the media that restraint would be key to Pogačar achieving his next target this summer, as they know that history is against their rider. In their attempts, both Chris Froome and Alberto Contador fell short in France after going too deep in May. Even Pantani’s Tour win in 1998 was largely thanks to Jan Ullrich’s unexpected capitulation on the road to Les Deux Alpes.
Whatever happens this July, Pogačar firmly established himself as the new darling of the Giro, winning over the Italian fans with his gung-ho racing style and gestures of goodwill to other riders and roadside fans.
Pogačar gifted his pink jersey and sunglasses to 20-year-old Giulio Pellizzari (the youngest rider in the race) of VF Group-Bardiani CSF after catching the Italian in the closing moments of stage 16 and denying him a victory.
“People give and you always need to return it,” Pogačar said post-race. “It was a fantastic Giro. It was a crazy
atmosphere… I really enjoyed it with the guys and the team.”
Pogačar has now finished on the podium in all six Grand Tours he has ridden. After winning his first Giro pink jersey, he will now look to add a third Tour maillot jaune to his collection.
Reflecting in Rome, he suggested he could still improve. “You definitely grow in a race when it’s three weeks long. Maybe I did another step up as a man, as a person. After this Giro, we’ll see how I feel, and if I’ve really matured.
“As a rider I felt super strong, I felt comfortable on the bike through the three weeks. That’s a long time on the
