Taking advantage of the Tour presentation, L'Equipe welcomed Pogacar to his editorial office in Boulogne-Billancourt on the outskirts of Paris and put him in front of ten subscribers, who had the privilege of asking the Slovenian a series of questions. A sort of firing squad, to which Tadej submitted with a smile, revealing nuances that had never emerged before.
It just so happened that His heartbeat is extraordinarily slow and was recently measured at 38 beats per minute.This year Pogacar also broke his own power records, recording 500 watts on average, during the 10 minute climb of the Côte de la Croix Neuve.
Pogacar also spoke of the best days of his career, but also of his defeats. And he closed with two thoughts. The first is the awareness that you can't last too long running so much and at these levels all the timeThe second is the hope of not being remembered as a cannibal who wanted to win everything, but as a normal guy.
Next up, here it is some of his answers on some of the issues raised by French readers.
As a child, no hero
«I started cycling in 2008 on the outskirts of Ljubljana, to follow in the footsteps of my brother (Tilen), who is two years older than me. Since I was competing against him and friends his age, it took me a while to get my first results. I won my first race in my second year, an uphill battle.We were tackling the last six kilometers of the local climb, which seemed enormous to me at that moment.
«I didn't really have an idol: I saw Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, their duel at the 2010 Tour was super fun, but I didn't see many races on TV. As a kid, I didn't really have any riders as heroes».
The father's personality
«I think I have I got the cold shoulder partly from my father (Mirko), who can be quite tough but is always very relaxed. In truth, I think I feel the tension like everyone else. I feel an adrenaline rush before every climb and I get stressed as each sprint approaches. Also, I try to take everything in a relaxed way.
«I don't follow no specific mental preparation, I don't see psychologists, it's my nature and I'm happy with it. I love my sport and I try to keep the beauty, even on bad days».
Second place at the Tour
«I didn't win the yellow jersey again, but I had a fantastic yearI won almost everything I wanted (UAE Tower, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, three stages of the Tour, Montreal GP, Tour of Lombardy) while In terms of intensity it was probably the hardest season I've had to do.After the Tour I recovered well and I focused on the rest.
«Somehow, This second place was a victory in its own wayI learned a lot and gained a lot of motivation from it. I felt more love from the audience that after my two victories at the Tour."
Roubaix: no, thanks
«I could have won the Tour of Flanders, but instead I finished fourth. This duel against Mathieu Van der Poel it will remain one of the highlights of my seasonI was a rookie in the race, I had no idea what to expect, but I had a great day. I was very angry about losing, but I quickly forgot about it.It's not a bad memory and I'd love to go back.
«Paris-Roubaix will wait. It's not a race for people of my profile, I should put on a few pounds. For fun? If anything, at the end of my career. Roubaix is tougher than the cobbled Tour stages. The surface is worse and you go faster."
No one is forever
"Being at the top of two Grand Tours is very difficult, three is simply impossible. It would be a waste of time. I want to do the Giro d'Italia, but I'm not thinking about it too much for nowIt will come later. Not too long, actually, because My seasons are long and you can't last that long when you're always at 100 percentI can still improve, especially in the time trial and on long climbs.
«I would also like to speak French better, since my mother (Marjeta) teaches it in LjubljanaBut when you're little, you don't want to do what your parents did. That's why I didn't learn it well. I can say croissant, baguette... what you need to order breakfast in the bakery."
