From talking about it every day, even more than once a day, to almost total silence: but what happened to His Majesty Tadej Pogacar? In this increasingly frenetic and racing world, the Tour de France it was cancelled in no time between Olympics, Return And so many other races. And suddenly, without Tadej in the race, the spotlight shifted elsewhere.
But in this last month the leader of the UAE Emirates he hasn't been completely idle. To find out what he has done and what he will do, we turned to Andrei Hauptman, one of Pogacar's trusted directors.
Andrej, we left off in Nice with a super Pogacar and then?
In the days immediately after the Tour, Tadej went to Slovenia. People wanted him, and he was happy to show off the yellow and pink jerseys to the general public. I don't know if you saw the images from Ljubljana, how many people there were. Then he immediately returned to Monaco and from there... it was a completely quiet week. He spent time with Urska (Zigart(his partner, ed.). I think they went on some trips and spent a few days at a lake.
And by bike?
A week of total shutdown. No bikes.
As for the Vuelta, given how unbeatable he was at that time, didn't you even think about it for a moment?
The Vuelta wasn't on the agenda and we didn't talk about it. Or rather, We talked about it because the media led us to do so in some way, but between us we actually never did it in a technical way. It wasn't planned. You know what? So often everything seems easy, but it isn't.
Clear…
Tadej is always ready, always at full speed, when he shows up to a race it's to win. It came from Tour of Italy, then he remained focused in the middle, then the Tour again… sooner or later he had to stop. He couldn't go to Spain, perhaps to win a stage. I spoke to him: he felt the real tiredness two or three days later. "Now I feel tired. I'm dead tired," he told me.It's normal. As long as you're competing, your mind is ready, the adrenaline is there, you're performing at a high level. But then, if you keep going, sooner or later you explode, and when that happens, getting back up is really complicated at that point.
And now?
He's been training again for a while now. As mentioned, he took a break for that week. Then he started again, simply pedaling. And those were perhaps the hardest days, because after rest and so much effort, your body doesn't want to start again. In any case, he's seeing increasing workloads, following his coach's instructions.
And how's he working? Is it a basic workout or is it more intense in preparation for the World Cup?
I'd say normal. For sure. as the world championship approaches he will do more specific work suited to that race.
What will his schedule be?
It's not up to me to say, but more or less his typical one at this stage of the year (he should play the Canadian trip, the World Cup, Emilia, Tre Valli Varesine and Lombardia, ed.). With one-day races, at least for now, until the World Cup… which will be one of the end-of-season goals.
Speaking of the World Championships, did Pogačar see the route?
No, not yet. Neither him (he's supposed to go this week, ed.), nor me, but we will. While the Slovenian technician viewed it.
Andrej, you've known him for a long time, does Pogacar still seem motivated to you?
Tadej is always motivated! That's why he's always strong and you have to plan things well with him. From what I know, he's fine. But then, the first few races will tell us how he'll really be.Even if the values and watts are good in training, the race is a different story. Everything goes according to plan anyway.
And mentally? Since, as you said, he spent a lot...
Tadej is calm. I have no doubt that he will be fit at the right time. If anything, it's one-day races that are, in some ways, more difficult to win than a Grand Tour. In a three-week race, if you're the strongest, you somehow come out on top, but in a one-day race, if you have a so-so day, or any other unexpected event, anything can happen. Especially in the World Championships, where everyone reaches their peak.
And as for pressure. Could it be that this time, after the Giro and the Tour, with the opportunity to achieve something incredible, he'll have to deal with it a bit?
It's part of the character now. The pressure is undoubtedly there, but he handles it well and perhaps he's also the one who pushes himself the most.
