If there is one thing that can be safely admitted, it is that with Tadej pogacar You always have to stay alert. Because every race holds surprises, perhaps also because the world champion is always in the spotlight. In the first stage, he tries to sprint? They tell him he has a lot to learn as a sprinter. The next day, he's third in the time trial? And he's met with criticism, even from newspapers and established journalists.But then, as soon as the road starts to rise under the wheels, the Slovenian makes it clear: if he's there, there's no way through...
A race divided into two parts
This is the first part of the UAE TourThen there's the second: everyone thinks it will be a slow (so to speak...) progress towards the last stage, that of Jebel Hafeet, with the uphill finish. But with him it's never like that and so... On Friday's stage he did a spectacular stunt, breaking away for 110 kilometers. The group didn't know what to do, and the commentators didn't understand.He eventually finished 36th, fresh as a daisy, with an expression of pure enjoyment. The opposite was true the next day, when he stayed with the group and finally admitted, "I was bored."
Being with Tadej is like being on a roller coaster and Andrei Hauptman, his sports director for years but above all his friend, knows it well: «That attack was born almost as a joke. He had thought of breaking the monotony by giving verve to the race, but he expected someone to follow him, instead they stayed in the group and so he carried on, regardless of how it would end, thinking of having a good jog. Of course, If it had been another rider I would have said it was better to avoid it, but he is special…».
Is being unpredictable one of the characteristics that makes him unique, in your opinion?
One of many. I always say that in some ways he is an artist, who plays up his quirks, who gives in to his imagination. Ultimately, he's almost always right.
Will you talk about it after the stage?
Of course, Let's compare our ideas, as we always do before a race, and so we do afterwardsMany were struck by his statements after Saturday's stage, when he said he was bored. Tadej is someone who viscerally loves action and involvement. For him, pedaling is never a mechanical gesture; he wants it to always have meaning. This also means he honors every race as if it were a great classic or a stage of a Grand Tour. Tadej is like that: maybe he's leading the race and starts pulling for a teammate, maybe even the sprint. For me, it's also wonderful to have someone like him at my disposal. Even if sometimes he makes my heart skip a beat...
You've been racing for years: when you find yourself in the group with someone like that, so superior and doing things that go against logic, doesn't he also defeat all racing tactics?
This is another of the things that makes him a unique rider. Yes, I was a rider, but it wasn't the same; I always struggled. I've been working with him for years now and I see that he has the ability to turn everything into a game, even to combat boredom.This is wonderful, also because he never does anything that isn't allowed. Of course, this puts the other teams in difficulty, I realize that...
However, a stage in a race as important as the UAE Tour is one thing, but quite another when career-defining milestones like a classic or a Grand Tour are at stake…
Calm down: Pogacar, even when he does what some might consider “crazy” things, always does it with good reason. On Friday the stage was flat, there was no wind, he knew that the effort would not remain in his legsWhen it comes to important races, he too knows very well that every drop of energy counts and he always runs to implement a plan, never to do things for their own sake.
We're less than a month away from the first of these goals, the Sanremo, which is difficult to interpret, especially for a rider like him. Are you already thinking about it?
Let's say that I'm the one who's thinking about it, especially to understand the right tactics and the most suitable men to face itWhether to make the race tough from afar, whether to wait until the final part, whether to lead a small group towards the final sprint, or maybe something else. There's no time, but we're thinking about it, evaluating every possibility because the Classicissima It's the race that more than any other defies any tactical rule. That's where the artist's touch truly comes in…
Will the World Championship season be long, as you saw it in Arabian soil?
We're exactly where we wanted to be. At a high level, but there's room for improvement, there's work to be done. We've changed his calendar compared to the past; he'll only do the Dauphiné as a stage race between now and the Tour, and the rest will be one-day races. We're calm, the team works very well both when we run for him and when Tadej isn't there. We just have to think about working and looking forward, rest assured that there will be no more talk of boredom...
