TADEJ POGACAR TO SKY: "I LOVE ITALY AND YOUR PASTA. HOW GOOD IS CARBONARA", URSKA: "HE CAN DO EVERYTHING, HE ALSO COOKS VERY WELL"

INTERVIEW | 26/12/2024 | 18:35
di Guido La Marca
Today at 12:30 on Sky, the exclusive interview collected by the excellent Luigi Vaccariello with the dominator of the 2024 season, Tadej Pogacar, aired. An open-hearted chat, which we are partially reproducing. This year can be archived as the season of absolute consecration.
"Yes, I believe we can say it was the perfect season. But we must immediately look ahead. We must forget this season. It was beautiful, very beautiful, rich in successes, but now we think about next year."

Many magical moments, is there an image that stands out more than others?
"I have two: they are very beautiful photos. One is from Strade Bianche and the other from Giro di Lombardia. Very similar in terms of how I celebrated at the end, but with slightly different emotions. The Strade Bianche one relates to the first race of the season, while the Lombardia one represents the last. The victory at Strade Bianche was confirmation of the excellent work done during the winter period. The success at Lombardia (the fourth consecutive one) we could say was the cherry on top to end a great season."

Interacting with Sky colleague Luigi Vaccariello and Tadej Pogacar was his partner, also a high-level athlete, Urška Žigart.
"It was a special season - Urška explains. When it ended, I was a bit scared. Because I know Tadej and I know he always wants to improve, and objectively it's complicated to think of having a better season than this. He managed to achieve all the goals he had in mind. Obviously, it was beautiful to see all those victories up close. But at the same time, it was stressful. But in the end, you can't complain about anything, you couldn't have asked for more."

An important turning point was Liège.
"It was very important to me - explained the world champion. Two years ago, on the eve of the race, Urska lost her mom, and we decided to return home and not race. Last year I fell, but I started with the same spirit, that of winning to honor the memory of Urska's mom. This year, in the end, I made it and managed to dedicate the success to her."

"Liège and the Tour of Flanders are two emotionally tough races - explains Urska. I struggle to focus only on the race. I remember my mom every day. In this sense, it's a day like any other, but that was a perfect day, where everything went as it should, I hope my mom was happy about it."

Pogacar is then prompted by Vaccariello to recall the fall at Liège 2023 and the crisis at Tour 2023.
"They were very important, not just for this year, but for my entire career in general. I learned many things about myself, I tried new things when I broke my hand. I lost the Tour de France because I was injured and didn't arrive in the best possible condition. I learned a lot from those moments. This helped me take many steps forward and arrive in the best possible form this year."

Vaccariello asks him about his relationship with Italy.
"Italy is special to me, but I believe that for all Slovenian cyclists, Italian cycling represents a point of reference. A country and a movement to which we are very attached. We are used to racing in Italy since we were 9, 10 years old. Until the age of 12, we do many races in Italy. At the same time, we are very used to training in your country. Your country is often a transit point by car for us Slovenians. For me, Italy is almost a second home. I feel very good there and I love cycling through your beautiful regions. I eat more pasta than pizza. Pasta then has different sauces. So to answer your question: I'd say pasta. However, I also really like Roman specialties, like amatriciana, carbonara, and cacio e pepe. These three dishes are undoubtedly my top three. Already at the Giro, I was very surprised by the affection and warmth of the public towards me. Every day, even in the longest stages, there were so many people on the street, I heard many fans shouting my name. So, hearing someone cheer you on by shouting your name for 5-6 hours was something special for those outside our world. Then at the Giro dell'Emilia, I was alone in a breakaway, it was raining a lot. But I kept hearing people cheering me on and making even more noise. It was simply fantastic."

The goal this year was the double.
"The plan was to try to win the Giro and Tour. When at the Giro I saw that we had managed to get everything we wanted, I understood that if I could recover well, it would be possible to repeat it on the roads of France. With Urska, we managed to relax for a few days after the Giro. When we then resumed preparation together, it was indeed a moment of relaxation, but at the same time, we worked hard. At that moment, in the days of rest after the Giro, I realized it was possible to arrive at the Tour in good condition and therefore win it."

No Olympics, however.
"After the Tour, I had to quickly decide if it was right to go to the Olympics or start preparing well for the World Championship. I decided not to exhaust myself physically for the Olympics, and to take a few days of relaxation, to breathe a bit and then focus 100% on the Zurigo World Championship. Because I understood that with the condition I had, I could play my cards to become world champion."

With Urska, a perfect understanding.
"We get along very well together. We motivate each other. However, I believe she motivates me more than I do her. I'm very happy to have a woman like her by my side. It's true, we are both cyclists. Even if sometimes it's a bit complicated to fit our various commitments. It happens that we don't see each other for a long time because we are in different places. But we understand and understand each other."

"If Tadej has time, he comes to my races - Urska specifies - but unfortunately, he doesn't manage to do so very often during the season. When I know he's there, I always look for him along the road, and it's nice to know he's there."

Is Tadej better as a boyfriend or as a cyclist?
"I can't make comparisons, I have no other boyfriends besides him. Obviously, I'm joking. I think he's a great person, and this makes him at the same time a loving boyfriend, an immense cyclist, a great cook. Then he also knows how to clean well. He can really do everything. He's simply a great person."

You've just changed teams, you've moved to the same team as Remco Evenepoel: will you be more of an insider for Tadej and Remco?
"I think neither of them needs much information. I believe everything Tadej does in terms of training is public and obvious to everyone. There are no secrets. The only thing that matters is to go faster than your opponent. Apart from everything, it's a very professional team. This is more of a joke that Patrick (Lefevere) and I made to entertain the media. There's no problem."

And in 2025, what will be the next objectives?
"A race I've set my sights on is Milan-Sanremo. It's not something you work on all year, obviously. I just need to approach it with the right motivations, believing in myself. Try every year. Who knows, maybe I'll manage to win it. But if it never happens, it wouldn't be a problem. I've already done Sanremo 4-5 times and came very close to winning. I've never tried Roubaix. Maybe Roubaix isn't quite a race suited to me. Maybe it can be a more iconic race. But for me, it's equivalent to Sanremo."

Is he thinking about the history he's rewriting?
"At this moment, it's not so important to think about what I'll represent in history. Maybe one day I'll tell my grandchildren, but for now, I just want to enjoy the moment and face next year without thinking about the past."