THE TRUTHS OF URSKA ZIGART, AN ATHLETE WHO IS NOT SIMPLY THE "GIRLFRIEND OF..."
INTERVIEW | 08/12/2024 | 08:25 di Giorgia Monguzzi Urska Zigart has learned to go straight her own way. Too many have stuck her with the label of "Pogacar's girlfriend", a heavy definition she must live with. They have written a lot about her, reporting her thoughts on the world champion, but few have truly asked her about her aspirations. "Tadej is a great guy," Urska tells us when we ask if she wants to answer some questions, but we stop her immediately. This time we don't want to talk about her boyfriend, but about her. We'll get to him later, if necessary. It takes little to bring a smile to her face and start a journey into the world of a girl in love with her work. A few days ago, she turned 28, but as she says, she's young in cycling terms, has a lot to learn and wants to do it always with a smile. "I'm satisfied with my 2024. In these years, I believe I've grown as an athlete, improved, and understood what I can work on," Urska explains to tuttobiciweb: "The double Slovenian national champion title is certainly a result I carry in my heart, but the best result of the season remains the fourth place at Giro dell'Emilia, a truly difficult race with top-level athletes. Moreover, I'm very proud of how I managed the Tour de Suisse in June because after the first stage, everyone thought I had good legs, but that wasn't the case. In the following days, I was feeling terrible, but I couldn't give up. I had to continue for the team, make it to the end. I finished ninth, but I had never been in such a situation before, and I believe I learned a lot." Now in both men's and women's cycling, there's a challenge between who can bloom first and immediately secure all the results. Urska went in the completely opposite direction. She entered the game when all her competitors had been playing for a long time, had experience, and the risk of falling behind was just around the corner. "I started cycling relatively late, at 17-18 years old, so I didn't have the experience of youth categories where everything is a game, you fall and get back up. I found myself immediately among the elite, having to compete with strong girls who knew how to move well in a group, approached races naturally, while I had never done that before. For me, there was only winning or losing, no middle ground, so every race was a defeat for me. The gap with the others was immense, and I couldn't catch up. Fortunately, I found GreenEdge at the time, who bet on me and helped me grow, they made me understand what it means to have fun." Her words are those of a girl who fought for her dreams and refused to surrender. Immediately, we recall those images we've seen many times on television where the Slovenian was pedaling at the back of the group. "I've always liked racing in the last positions of the group because that way I can better see how the race unfolds, I can control and somehow be more secure," she continues. "On the other hand, however, I'm never in the right position to react to an attack, so I'm constantly chasing. It's something I'm trying to improve, and I believe in the last season there has been a technical change, especially in my approach to a race. Finally, I can say I've learned to have fun. I pin on the number and I'm happy. I need to grow step by step." 2025 is approaching, and for Urska, it represents a beautiful challenge. After 4 years with Jayco Alula, she has decided to change everything and start a two-year adventure with AG Insurance, the women's version of Soudal Quick Step. "It was a difficult decision to make because at Jayco they made me an athlete, but I understood it was time to change. I don't know for how many more seasons I'll be in the saddle, so I want to have new experiences, try new environments, grow more and more," Urska continues talking about her future. In the team, she will find Ashley Moolman Pasio, the incredibly strong South African athlete who is a cornerstone of the team and from whom she wants to learn as much as possible. The objectives are many, first and foremost the desire to improve, to make the team proud, but there's also room for some dreams. "In the future, I would like to do well at the Tour de France, aim for a stage, test myself. The dream race is the world championship. I've always thought about it, but until Tadej won, I hadn't realized how important it was, how unique it was. Imagine two world champions in the family, that's something, maybe even too much," she says, somewhat joking, yet her eyes light up when she talks about her dreams, carried away by emotion. "I feel privileged to be a cyclist, to live from what I love, to have dreams and hope to realize them," she tells us. "Unfortunately, in Slovenia, this is not so easy. There's a lot of work to do, and especially there's no generation of cyclists who can come after me. I don't know for how many more years I'll be able to ride a bike, but today there's no replacement, and that's terrible." In Slovenia, apart from the Pogacars, Roglics, Mohorics, and Zigarts, there isn't a solid tradition as there might be in other countries. A few years ago, the world champion founded the Pogi team, a cycling team dedicated to kids who want to follow their passion, and since 2024, there's been a women's version. The Pika team, named after Urska's nickname, is committed to supporting all the girls who dream of becoming athletes and aim to have the necessary support to succeed. We had promised we wouldn't talk about him, but it's Urska herself who brings up Tadej. She is his number one supporter and vice versa; they support each other, pushing and dreaming of further improvement. Tadej has practically won everything, and many tend not only to compare them but to completely overshadow her. We know Urska for a long time, always smiling, sunny, with the desire to do well, so we try to ask her the question that has been buzzing in our heads for too long: doesn't all this weigh on you? "It's beautiful, but it's also difficult," Urska responds directly, speaking to us from the heart and explaining the other half of the story. "I'm his number one fan. I like to go to races to support him, and in those occasions, I enjoy talking about him to the press. I don't mind talking about our daily life, but when it's my turn to race, I would like to be treated as an athlete. I am both Tadej's girlfriend and a cyclist, but unfortunately, many don't remember or perhaps don't even know. These are two different circumstances. It's often stressful because too many tend to compare me to him, expecting great results from me, but we have very different cycling stories. He started cycling very early and won immediately; for me, it wasn't like that. When I don't have the right physical condition, the pressure is felt. There's the fear of disappointing, but over time, I've learned to live with it, to move forward on my own path, continuing to improve and dream." Urska's words hit us full-on. Once again, we've understood that in front of us is a girl who wants to prove her worth, without unnecessary comparisons. Talking about Tadej has become automatic for her, and she has learned to manage her "bulky" boyfriend while always remaining true to herself. And since we're here, before saying goodbye, we show her a funny title dedicated to her that sees her now in spy mode on behalf of Remco Evenepoel and Patrick Lefevre, to the detriment of Pogacar. Her laugh is immediate: "Final preparations and then I'll go into action. Please, don't tell anyone."
In troppi chi ? Gli stessi giornalisti scrivono così di lei. Inutile poi, che fate i sorpresi....
Sinceramente
8 dicembre 2024 12:48Cyclo289
Se non fosse stata "la fidanzata di" quanto spazio avrebbero avuto le sue lamentele per la non convocazione per le Olimpiadi?
Zigart?
8 dicembre 2024 13:52JeanRobic
E' un'atleta di buon livello ma non certamente una top, è famosa soltanto perché fidanzata di Pogi altrimenti sarebbe nel calderone insieme alle altre. Ha degli evidenti limiti inoltre nella conduzione della bici, specialmente in discesa.
Alla fine
8 dicembre 2024 14:47Greg1981
Alla fine si finisce a parlare di Pogacar. Vedete che siete voi stessi giornalisti a sottolineare la cosa. Ottimo
Sopravvalutata
8 dicembre 2024 15:57Osteopata
Concordo pienamente con le opinioni espresse fin qui....
Noi italiani siamo maestri nel sopravvalutare gli stranieri e per giunta figli,mogli,fidanzati e parenti vari di.....
Vedi le varie Belen,gemelle Kessler,Heather Parisi,e varie.
Gente che nel loro paese sarebbero stati nell'assoluto anonimato....
Risultati
8 dicembre 2024 19:26Albertone
Se per lei un quarto posto al Giro dell'Emilia e' il miglior risultato del 2024, per sua stessa dichiarazione, io penserei su questa cosa. E' come se nel calcio, si intervista un giocatore di serie B, anziche' una star della serie A. Così,forse, rendo meglio l'idea. Troppa pubblicità attorno a questa discreta atleta ( ma nulla di più),immotivata. A discapito delle atlete che chiedono parita'. Fai risultati ? Se ne parla uguale a chi ne ha fatti pochi. Pensateci su.
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