
Dominant Pogacar not in a giving mood as Tour lead swells
After storming to his fourth stage victory, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader dismissed the idea that he should back off to spare his competitors - a trend that emerged during the Lance Armstrong era - insisting that every opportunity to win is one worth taking.
"I'm not here to make enemies, but it's the Tour de France. You cannot just back off. The team pays you to win, not to give away. If there's an opportunity, you go for it," the Slovenian said.
The world champion's commanding time trial victory on Friday further solidified his lead in the general classification, coming a day after he dealt a massive blow to his main rivals.
The defending champion leads Jonas Vingegaard by a massive 4:07 after quadrupling his advantage over the Danish rider in two days.
Yet Pogacar said he's not thinking about the next summit finish or iconic climb just yet.
"The big point of the Tour was today," he said. "Now, we go stage by stage. The goal is to defend the jersey and keep the same gap. We can't burn out the team - we have to be smart."
Asked whether his dominance risked alienating others in the peloton, Pogacar was unapologetic.
"When I finish my career, I probably won't talk to 99% of the peloton anyway. I'll focus on my close friends and family."
Despite the bravado, he remains acutely aware of how quickly things can unravel at the Tour.
"In 2022 and 2023, I cracked. I had great tours, but I lost. You never know - a bad day can always come," he said, referring to his painful losses to Vingegaard.
The three-time Tour champion also offered a rare moment of introspection when asked what keeps him pushing after every win.
"What's the point of anything?" he said. 'I built my life around the bike. I met my closest friends and my fiancee through cycling. You just have to enjoy the moment - not just the victories."
Still, with the finish in Paris looming, Pogacar shows no sign of slowing or sharing the glory, true to his 'Baby Cannibal' nickname, a reference to all-time great Eddy Merckx, the man he could emulate one day.
Just like the Belgian he can win the Tour the year after claiming the world title, a feat achieved by only three riders, with American Greg LeMond in 1990 being the last to achieve it.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
Pogacar wins fourth Tour de France title, Van Aert takes final stage
PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) - Slovenian Tadej Pogacar won his fourth Tour de France title after finishing safe in the final stage won by Belgian Wout van Aert on Sunday. Two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark took second place overall with German Florian Lipowitz finishing third.


BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Van Aert wins final stage as Pogacar seals Tour title
Wout van Aert denied Tadej Pogacar a prestigious win on the final stage of this year's Tour de France as the Slovenian secured his fourth Tour champion Pogacar had a lead of more than four minutes heading into the final day, when only the stage win would be contested in rain falling in the French capital, the 26-year-old established himself in a six-man breakaway during a thrilling finale on the same circuit used for last year's Olympic Van Aert attacked on the third and final climb to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur de Montmartre and stretched his lead over the final 5km to clinch victory on the to follow.


BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
GB's Pidcock wins European mountain bike gold
Double Olympic champion Tom Pidcock produced a dominant display to win the men's mountain bike cross-country gold at the European Championships in 25-year-old finished 36 seconds clear of fellow Briton Charlie Aldridge in Melgaco, while Denmark's Simon Andreassen was started at the back of the pack but forced his way into the top 10 by the second of nine laps and overtook Aldridge to lead the race by the fifth loop of the is his second European title, having become the first Briton to win the 2022 Great Britain's Evie Richards took silver in the women's mountain bike 28-year-old, who claimed gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, finished one minute and 19 seconds behind champion Jenny Rissveds of Sweden.