The Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, yellow jersey ofhe is the Tour de Francewas provocative against his main rival, the Dane Jonas Vingegaard, who this Sunday tried to take time from him: “He finally gave him the balls.”
“It was clear that Jonas was coming to win the Tour. This Sunday, the Visma and him and him balls at him. Finally. They gave a good blow, you have to take your hat off,” said the UAE rider on the second day . of rest.
About the high speed at which it climbed Plateau de Beille On Sunday, the head of the UAE Team Emirates said: It’s amazing how cycling has developed over the years. When I came to this team six years ago, I don’t want to sound bad, but we were really newbies. At the time I thought we were professionals, but that has changed a lot since then. And that is the case everywhere. There is competition between teams, Visma, UAE, Ineos, Trek, Quick Step… to overcome the limits, in equipment, nutrition, training plans, altitude stages. We weigh every gram of food we eat and try to get every last watt out of the bike. It’s the tires that make the biggest difference. There are also wheels and the aerodynamics of the frames have nothing to do with what we don’t have. Even five years ago.”
YOUR ONLY FEAR
Asked what Pogacar was afraid of, the race leader replied: “I’m not afraid. If I can avoid getting sick, it’s obviously better. Currently there are a lot of Covids in the peloton and other viruses circulating. ASO (the organizer of the Tour de France) return the masks during the protocol but it’s not easy to protect yourself on the climbs so close most of the riders are sick like me before the Tour (Covid), I was a bit dizzy for two days but nothing bad “On the other hand, if a runner has a fever, it’s probably best to stop.”
He also varies his diet: “Six years ago, we focused a lot on starchy foods: for breakfast it was simple pasta or white rice. Now it’s more varied with porridge, cereal, omelette , bread, pancakes. Then we weigh everything . Gorka (Pireto-Belliver, nutritionist) joined the team five years ago, I had a lot of trouble following his plan, because mentally it was not easy to follow.”
Don’t trust Vingegaard
Pogacar believes Vingegaard will try again: “Jonas said he will not give up without a fight and he is right. I think they will aim for one stage in particular, Friday or Saturday, not both. We have to stay focused and defend our position as we try to keep the many runners around me.
Source: La Verdad
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