More than the what, it is the how, the happy form of his achievements. Tadej Pogacar This Sunday he leaves behind a week of dreams and success that removed any doubts about his fitness after a bout of gastroenteritis disrupted his winter preparations.
The Slovenian acted as absolute monarch, ‘King of the Sun’in his season debut, with the zenith coming in an attempt to win his third Tour de France (2020, 2021) and thus dethroned the Dane Jonas Vingegaardat 26 years old, another of the young animators of current cycling.
Vingegaard won the gala round, but Pogacar, 24, and the Belgian Remco Evenepoel23, are the two leading representatives of the brash new generation of ‘cannibal’ champions, their hunger for victory as insatiable as it was in the last century. Eddy Merckx.
Despite his youth, Pogacar has already surpassed the Tour of Andalusia-Ruta del Sol the barrier of 50 professional victories, 51 in total. Evenepoel has 37. He started the week showing himself in Jaen Classic and ended it as the final winner of the Ruta del Sol, winning three of the five stages, the 1st, 2nd and 4th. the Belgian Tim Wellens (3rd) and Spanish brother omar (5th) was the only one to interfere with that Slovenian monopoly.
“Winning the Vuelta a Andalucía is very important because it shows that the work done in preparation has been positive in a race with a tight track and important rivals. It gives a lot of morale to face the challenges of the season”, said Tadej.
Cycling fans will rub their hands against Pogacar and Evenepoel, but the unexpected loss of the Slovenian in back to the emirates, where he is the current two-time champion, postpone for the moment the first direct rivalry with the Belgian, a great favorite starting on Monday in the test. “I want to change and liven up my calendar a bit,” the Slovenian said mischievously before opening his season.
“The plan is to reach my best possible level in the Tour de France, but also be ready for the classics. I want to be well for Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège”, recalls by Pogacar.
Two Tours (2020, 2021), two Tirreno-Adriatico (2021, 2022), two Il Lombardy (2021, 2022), a Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2021) and an Olympic bronze en route (Tokyo’2021) They are already shining with a list of winners that point to a huge future.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
