Tadej Pogacar has dominated the Critérium du Dauphiné this past week, leaving no doubt that he is the top favorite for the Tour de France. The Slovenian himself feels he still has some homework to do.
“It was a great week,” Pogacar said on Sunday after the final stage. “I can go to the Tour with a good feeling. There are many positive things to take away from this Dauphiné. And the negative things we can turn into something positive.”
Pogacar was referring to the time trial on Wednesday. In the mountains, the world champion was dominant, but in the 17-kilometer race against the clock, he conceded 48 seconds to winner Remco Evenepoel. His great rival Jonas Vingegaard was 28 seconds faster.
That is a point of attention for the upcoming Tour, which starts on July 5. In ‘La Grande Boucle’, two time trials are included, totaling 44 kilometers.
“I’m going on a high-altitude training camp now,” Pogacar said. “There I will have to tweak my time trial a bit. After that high-altitude training camp, I still have some days off to be at home.”
Vingegaard sees Pogacar as the top favorite
Time trial or no time trial, for Vingegaard it is clear who the biggest contender for the overall victory in the Tour is. “Tadej is the top favorite,” said the Dane, who finished second in the Dauphiné overall standings, 59 seconds behind.
“Of course, as the winner of last year, he has a lot more pressure, but he can handle it well,” Vingegaard continued. “I hope I can take another step. I’m thinking of accelerating on longer climbs, but actually everything needs to be a little better.”
“I’m just focusing on myself to be as good as possible in the Tour. Of course, Tadej looks very strong, but I can’t do anything else. If I saw a weakness in him, I wouldn’t say it here. It should be clear that the pressure is now more on him.”