Tadej Pogacar stressed Monday that he wanted to “first finish the Giro well”, by “perhaps preserving himself a little more”, before “concentrating 110% on the Tour de France”. With a lead of almost seven minutes over his first pursuers, the Slovenian almost won the race but wanted to remain cautious in a video press conference on Monday during the rest day.
“We are in a good position in the general classification. Hopefully the coming week will be just as good. There are six steps left. I want to finish the Giro already. In a week, we will be able to devote 110% to the Tour de France,” he declared.
“We have a nice lead and we can play it a little safer. We had been ticking off yesterday’s stage for a very long time and we really wanted to win it. From now on, maybe we can run in a way that preserves ourselves a little more. But you never know,” he added.
On Sunday, Pogacar stunned the Giro by winning the queen stage in Livigno alone with almost three minutes ahead of his general rivals.
“It was one of my best high altitude performances. In terms of power it’s difficult to compare with my races in the past, because there are so many parameters that come into play. But in terms of sensations, I felt really good. Winning the queen stage of a Grand Tour is one of the greatest accomplishments. It’s generally only big names who win them,” said the leader of UAE, winner of four stages already.
His first Giro, he agreed, is going perfectly so far. “It was a dream to run it and wear the pink jersey. Getting hold of it in the second stage was an incredible moment. And defending it gives me even more motivation.”
Visibly fresh and in good shape, he was confident of being able to continue in good conditions on the Tour de France (June 29-July 21) with the objective of becoming the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro and the Tour la same year.
“I have never done both before but those who have done so say that if you finish the Giro well and recover well behind, you have good legs at the Tour. Hopefully this is the case for me too,” said Pogacar who, after a period of post-Giro “relaxation”, will go to training camp to prepare for the Tour, without going through the Dauphiné or Tour de Suisse box.