BILZEN (Belgium) – The hotel where Tadej Pogacar meets journalists in the afternoon is an old castle renovated, with brick walls outside and dark windows overlooking green fields as far as the eye can see. It's easy to understand why Belgium is so green, given that It rained continuously today too, starting from the morning, and only at 16pm did it decide to stop..
When the Slovenian and his companions stopped the bus this morning on the road between Trois Ponts and Stavelot, It took all their determination to get dressed and set off on the last 100 kilometres of the LiègeUlissi, who had to endure it on Wednesday the Fleche Wallonne, he looked at the sky unconvinced, but Tadej arrived yesterday evening and his teammates waited for him for the “recon”. They covered themselves with neoprene gloves worthy of a diver, closed every possible draft and disappeared towards the Cote da Wanne, first climb of the day.
«We did a good reconnaissance – says Pogacar – I always like to revisit the roads of one of my favorite racesIt's becoming a tradition, we've been doing more or less the same workouts for six years and today was no exception. We went and pushed hard so as not to get cold. So the distance passed very quickly."
The Flèche Wallonne remained in the eyes of all the riders and is still a big topic of conversation. Pogacar also followed her on television and admits that he suffered for his teammatesThe boy has his usual clean-cut face and tired eyes, but as usual he appears very well-disposed, so the questions come and go. Not just about Liège, but also about the falls and everything else that for one reason or another populates the imaginations of twenty journalists who have come from all over just for him.
Sunday's clash with Van der Poel: who of you two do you think is physically better equipped for these races?
I'm looking forward to facing Mathieu again, but I don't think he's the only one to watch. The Liège is more suitable for climbers than to heavier riders like Mathieu, but we know that he he can do everythingI think Sunday will be a pretty open race, with a lot of long range attacks and anything can happen. It's a very long race, one of the longest of the year, with many meters of altitude difference uphill.. It is better suited to slightly lighter, but still punchy cyclists.
What do you think of what Mathieu did this spring?
Every year now. What he does every year is fantastic, even if this time he is more recognisable with the world champion's jersey.He chooses his races and performs at a very high level every time. That's why it's also fun to race against him, although maybe fun isn't the right word.
Changing the subject, what do you think of the falls we've seen recently?
I think I saw one of the two most horrific accidents ever while watching television this year. It wasn't nice to see. these huge falls, where the riders on the ground didn't even move. They were lying still and I was there from home hoping that someone would come and get them quickly and help them.Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it; it's already happened. Accidents happen all the time, and more will happen. Cycling is a very dangerous sport, I hope everyone knows that.Every year we go faster and faster. We have faster equipment. We push the limits of our bodies and our bikes. Obviously we can't ride every stage, every route. You have the maps to study them. You can do it with Google Maps, Earth View, whatever. You can see the road, but it's not the same if you know it. So let's just go.
Do you think the riders also have some responsibility?
Yes of course. Many riders blame the organizers, but sometimes it's just our fault.We're going too fast. Our falls aren't always due to potholes or craters, but we certainly aren't lucky enough to always ride on new asphalt. We go faster on every descent, every climb, every flat stretch. Then the tiredness of the bodies is added and normally there are fallsI also fell last Liège, but it was my own fault. I was concentrating on saving as much energy as possible. I was behind my teammate Vegard, who is quite tall, and I couldn't see anything. So when Michael Honoré fell, I couldn't avoid him.
And anyway, on Sunday we return to Liège, in the season of the Giro and the Tour: how does the Doyenne fit into the program?
I'm pretty fit. I come from the Sierra Nevada training camp and I'm already focused on the Giro and the Tour, but I think I've prepared quite well for Sunday too.I really like this program. It's not too heavy and It leaves me plenty of time for training and rest between runs.At the same time, it helps me find motivation in the races I do. When I look at the Tour of Flanders, the Amstel, or the Flèche, I want to run them too, but I also know I need to be fresher for the Giro and then the Tour. So motivation comes with every race I see on TV.
The Basques' fall affected three of the Tour contenders. What did you think when you realized it?
I know from experience that it takes a long time to recover. The body needs time, even if the mind is ready to ride the bikeYou want to push, but your body needs to recover, no matter what the fracture or injury. An injury like this affects your preparation and your mental state, so I hope everyone can recover as quickly as possible. That they can get back to altitude training as quickly as possible. I know how important it is to have as much time as possible and I think they still have enough for the Tour.
Would you like Vingegaard to be at the Tour, then?
Yes of course. I'm the kind of person who always wants to compete against the best and Jonas is probably the best climber in the world.I hope he gets back to his previous level and that we can put on a good show again. And I hope no one thinks I'm happy about his injury, otherwise I'd have to assume someone else was happy about mine last year, and I don't want to think about that.
What do you expect from the Giro-Tour challenge?
There will be ups and downs in this program, but I love running in Italy. I've run in Italy my whole life and I want to arrive in Rome with good feelings and enjoy those three weeks.Then obviously I want to have a good week after the Giro and start working for the Tour and prepare to suffer in France. The important thing will be to finish the Giro well mentally and physically, not to be completely destroyed. You won't have to do anything special, and you won't have to exhaust yourself that month. Your body will still be in good shape. You'll have to follow your feelings to arrive at the Tour de France uncooked.
Returning to Liège, after the 80km breakaway at Strade Bianche and Van der Poel's 60km at Roubaix, what should we expect for Sunday?
I'll attack at 100km to go (laughs). Why not? Just for fun, guys. I think this isn't the Roubaix or even the Strade Bianche. The hardest climbs in Liège are tackled in the finale, so I think it's pretty difficult to drop out too early. I will also tell you that I am missing Remco from the starting list, I admit itBecause he won the last two editions, in which I wasn't in the final stages. I'd been hoping since the beginning of the year that we'd meet here in Liège, because he loves this race and I love it too. It would have been interesting. Cycling sucks sometimes, when these things happenWhen all the top-level athletes are in the race and I still manage to win, I definitely feel more satisfied.
Do you think you might lose on Sunday?
I don't think about losing. I mean, there are so many climbs in this race and it's such a long race, that you can be surprised by a small group that goes away and you have to have a good team to controlI think there are several other contenders. So don't feel like you're already a winner; we'll have to be very careful in the finale.
Are you really thinking about winning all five Monuments?
Sanremo gets closer every year, but it is one of the most difficult races to win. And Paris-Roubaix, seeing how it's been run in the last two years, could be right for me.I could see myself in there. It's not the best solution for the team's plans, but I'll certainly try to win it. There's no need to talk about it too much, the team knows it. I think it's pretty clear that I try to win as much as possible and I don't like copy and paste programs.
