It is honest to assume that if somebody is going to beat defending champion Jonas Vingegaard at this yr’s Tour de France they’ll want to be at their greatest, but Tadej Pogacar believes he has a shot on the title regardless of a far-from-ideal preparation.
The Slovenian, who final yr cracked underneath strain from Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma crew within the ‘stage of the century’ to the Col du Granon and had to accept second total after triumphing in 2020 and 2021, broke his wrist in a number of locations in April.
The restoration time hampered his preparation for the Tour and he solely returned to aggressive racing in his nationwide championships earlier this month, successful each the time trial and street race titles.
But the Tour is a three-week effort with a lot stronger opposition, resembling Denmark’s Vingegaard, who equipped for the race by successful the Criterium du Dauphine at the start of the month.
“The wrist is not completely fine,” Pogacar stated. “I feel OK on the bike but the wrist is not back to full mobility, 60, 70%. I did a scan on Monday and two out of three bones have healed but the scaphoid still needs more time.”
For Pogacar, solely full velocity racing will decide whether or not he can provide his greatest.
“We will see in the race itself. I had a good training in the last couple of weeks but I didn’t race normally. Normally before the Tour I would race the Dauphine. I think the legs are good, the mentality is super good, I hope I’m ready.”
The opening block of Tour phases are seen as a number of the hardest in recent times, with hilly terrain within the Basque nation that can make for “explosive” racing, in accordance to Pogacar.
“The first week is going to be really tough, explosive. When I first saw the route I was excited by the first week but with my injury I’m a bit less excited by it now,” the 24-year-old stated with a smile.
Vingegaard made a robust impression on the Dauphine, however Pogacar identified that his UAE Emirates crew mate Adam Yates additionally carried out properly, ending second total, two minutes and 23 seconds off the tempo.
Pogacar is, nonetheless, totally centered on himself, not on his foremost rival.
“I have my performance in my mind, I try to focus on our racing as it’s not only Jumbo-Visma (against us). There are many more teams. In cycling you need to focus on yourself,” he defined, including that he had discovered his lesson from final yr, when he failed to preserve his cool when underneath assault.
“Last year was a big experience for everybody and we will try to be better this year. Last year I was good enough to win but Jonas was stronger at certain points in the race so I will try to be careful this time. We will be trying to do our thing and win it.”
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