Tadej Pogačar heads into Liège-Bastogne-Liège as one of many few superstars to have survived the primary months of the 2024 season with out breaking one thing. In his pre-race press convention, Pogačar mentioned he would miss having Remco Evenepoel – the winner of the final two editions of La Doyenne – on the beginning line.
“I hoped from the beginning of the yr that we might go face to face with Remco right here on this race as a result of he loves this race,” Pogačar mentioned. “I like it additionally, and it could [have been] attention-grabbing however biking sucks typically.”
Pogačar may need simply been fortunate to have escaped the mayhem that has put Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) out of the Giro d’Italia, and left his teammate Jonas Vingegaard and Soudal-QuickStep’s Evenepoel nursing damaged bones. He is had simply 9 days of racing as a part of his pared-back season to be contemporary for his try and win the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
Nonetheless, he is one of many main contenders for Liège-Bastogne-Liège with a commanding solo victory in Strade Bianche and a crushing efficiency to win the Volta a Catalunya. Within the absence of Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has stepped as much as attempt to add the oldest Monument to his palmares and is ready to be his high rival together with Amstel Gold Race winner Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).
Even with the standard of the beginning record, Pogačar would fairly have all of his rivals on the road to battle in opposition to.
“When there may be everyone from the highest tier in biking within the race and also you handle to win, you are feeling extra glad,” he mentioned.
The identical goes for the Tour de France. Pogačar has been second to Vingegaard within the final two editions and even when the crash that left the Dane with damaged bones and a punctured lung ups his odds for the Giro-Tour double, he hopes Vingegaard recovers in time.
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“I all the time wish to race in opposition to one of the best and Jonas might be one of the best climber on this planet and for the Tour, he is all the time one of the best, so I want that he comes again on the identical stage as earlier than and that we will have a great go once more,” he mentioned earlier than acknowledging that the timing of his crash makes a full restoration for the Tour difficult.
“I do know from my expertise that the physique wants fairly an extended restoration even when your thoughts is able to go on the bike. You wish to push however the physique must get better from something damaged or any injury to the physique. So for certain, it impacts the preparations and it impacts the psychological half as properly.
“I hope everyone can get better as quick as doable and be on the altitude coaching camps as quick as doable to arrange for the Tour as a result of I understand how essential is to have as a lot time as doable. I feel there may be nonetheless a while to the Tour however the clock is ticking.”
At Liège-Bastogne-Liège final yr, Pogačar went in as the recent favorite after successful the Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne and the Amstel Gold Race however crashed within the early a part of the race and was out for weeks with a damaged wrist.
“It was utterly my fault – It was fairly a chill second of the race. I used to be specializing in saving as a lot vitality as doable and I used to be trying in the back of my teammate, Vega [Vegard Stake Laengen] – he is fairly massive – I can not see something over him. So when Mikkel Honoré crashed I used to be not capable of keep away from it. So it was utterly my fault,” he mentioned.
Van Aert’s crash on a descent throughout Dwars door Vlaanderen and the mass crash that took down Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Primož Roglič on the Itzulia Basque Nation he mentioned had been “two of essentially the most horrible crashes ever”.
“It was not good to see these massive, massive crashes when folks do not even transfer on the bottom – they only lay down and simply keep nonetheless – you hope that any individual can choose them up quick and assist them,” he mentioned of watching the wrecks on tv.
Riders have been important of the choice to incorporate the descent in Dwars door Vlaanderen or to not defend the nook the place Vingegaard fell right into a concrete culvert, however Pogačar put a number of the blame on the peloton.
“Biking is a really harmful sport. I hope everyone is aware of that. We go quicker and quicker yearly, we’ve got quicker tools, we push the bounds of our our bodies, of the bikes … we simply go quicker and quicker in each downhill, each uphill, each flat part and you then add up tiredness of the our bodies and usually there’s going to be crashes,” he mentioned.
“I see a whole lot of a whole lot of riders blaming the organisers a whole lot of instances however typically it is simply purely the rider’s fault as a result of we simply go too quick.”
Pogačar is aware of somewhat one thing about velocity, too, after attacking in Strade Bianche and soloing to victory after 82 kilometres on his personal. Then Van der Poel gained the Tour of Flanders with a 45km solo effort and Paris-Roubaix with a solo transfer 60 kilometres out.
He did not suppose it was doable to do one thing related in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
“I feel this race will not be Roubaix, it isn’t Strade. Right here, the toughest climbs are extra within the last. So I feel it is fairly onerous to go early,” he mentioned.
The climbs may even make the race more durable for Van der Poel to win, he added.
“This race is appropriate extra for climbers than the heavier riders like Mathieu… however he can do the whole lot so I feel it is gonna be fairly an open race on Sunday – a whole lot of assaults from far and something can occur. It is a very lengthy race – one of many longest of the yr – and a whole lot of metres of climbing.
“It’s essential have a great group to manage however I feel there are fairly many contenders. Everyone that was racing Flèche and Amstel – the highest 10 or 15 guys – have good legs they usually can handle to climb properly for these brief climbs. So we must be attentive within the last 100k.”
After watching his rivals endure within the freezing chilly and moist of La Flèche Wallonne, Pogačar did not remorse his resolution to skip the race to coach in Spain the place the climate was sunny and within the 20°C vary.
The climate on Wednesday was so unhealthy that Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who Pogačar mentioned was his first wager to win Flèche, dropped out when he grew to become hypothermic and was shivering uncontrollably. He and Flèche winner Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech), he mentioned already proved they’re in fine condition.
“We are able to anticipate the great race from them. For Mattias, if he isn’t too chilly – I felt sorry for him on Wednesday. I feel he’ll dress a bit extra for Sunday, so we will anticipate him within the last,” he joked.
Pogačar wasn’t ruling out working for teammate Marc Hirschi, who was second within the Amstel Gold Race, very like Van der Poel did for teammate Jasper Philipsen in Milan-San Remo, a transfer he known as ‘biking poetry’.
“The UAE Workforce gave me loads within the final six years. It is good typically that you just give one thing again – like Van der Poel did in Sanremo this was actually nearly a biking poetry. As a result of he knew Philipson was there and he had one of the best dash. So it was fairly a good selection.”
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