COURCHEVEL – «I don't know – says Pogacar as soon as he crosses the finish line – It's like I tried to eat as much as possible, but nothing was going on in my legs. As if everything remained in my stomach and after three and a half hours I was literally emptied. I was really empty at the foot of the climbI thought I'd lose more ground, but I kept fighting with Marc (Soler, ed.) until the finish. I'm grateful to my teammates and friends. I didn't feel bad about the crash; it doesn't hurt that much. Or maybe it affected my body, I don't know.I think I felt better in the fifth stage than today. It was one of my worst days on the bikeI hope to recover and do something good next Saturday. The team was very strong, It would still be great to have two on the podium».
«I'm dead»
The Courchevel high port It's a seething mass of journalists pushing and orderlies pushing them away. The line of fans is reaching the cable car back down the valley, the riders reach the bus stop.
There was a moment with 14,5 kilometers to go when Pogacar spoke to the team: "I have to give up," he said, "I'm dead!"The sporting director understood and asked Soler to stay with him. At that point, the surrender was clear to everyone.
«We have overcome a thousand difficulties – wrote his manager a few days ago on Instagram – danced with crocodiles to have the hope of running the Tour. Now at the end of the second week you have gone further, you are fighting step by step for a new great goalPeople judge everything by results, but there's much more behind it."
The third week has come into its own. This is not the time for analysis, because Tadej's mood is already compromised enough. Still being here fighting after two months without racing is already a lot, but it is clear that sooner or later all situations will have to be analyzedHas everything really been done to the best of its ability?
Could he have run earlier?
The time trial has dug deep into the champion's psyche. If last year we already wondered how he would have Pogacar reacted at the first defeat, this time It remains to be seen how long he will carry it with himIt's true that Tadej seems impervious to everything, but a man from the staff UAE Emirates this morning he said that for the first time since she knew him, last night she saw him resigned.
Why didn't Pogacar race between Liège and the Tour? Considering the longer healing time for his scaphoid, two months is an absolutely huge intervalIt would not have been appropriate to take him running, allowing him to build a less ephemeral condition than the one he had put together by going to Sierra Nevada with his partner and then with the team in SestrierePreparing to win a Tour requires that there are no lapses, that nothing is left out. Pogacar is a world sports capital, a crowd favorite for his generous way of running, but building a Tour is something else entirely.
Was something missing?
Today's collapse was perhaps caused by nervous backlash after the time trialIt is true that Tadej's performance was excellent, but that does not mean that in the last 4 kilometers his pedaling was less agile and productive than usual, as if paying for an unexpected tiredness.
Since the accident, a more severe plan would probably have been needed until the Tour. Even running the Tour of Slovenia, for example, despite having to deal with gaps every day. You can't get to the Tour knowing that the last stage race of the season was the Paris-Nice done in March. It's true that the ability to work hard is not lost, but the feeling is that while Vingegaard worked hard and his technicians beside him, in the clan of the UAE Emirates something didn't work perfectlyAnd if at the height of the challenge, you know you're missing something, it's easier to get back up than to throw your soul into the street.
The time of need
There is a team bus Matxin who puts his face on it and perhaps he is right in saying that it would be enough to give credit to the rival and move on.
“When someone goes faster,” says the Spaniard, “you have to recognize it. Nobody said that Tadej is on top of the cycling worldThere are other riders who train, make sacrifices and who also have two legs. Vingegaard was stronger in this Tour, no further explanation neededHe didn't do anything wrong, he was on another level.
«Tadej is a realistic boy. After yesterday's defeat and realizing he wasn't feeling very well, he knew he wouldn't be able to break everyone's bones.Yesterday I went to his room to give him a hug and a kiss. I wanted him to know that in difficult times he has Matxin by his side, ready to defend himThere are times when we need to know who we can count on. At other times, everyone is capable of standing next to him and asking for his photo».
