Tadej Pogacar is aiming for overall victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné, but doesn’t want to put too much pressure on himself after a month of training alone. The Slovenian will face Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel in the French stage race.
“The field here is incredible. It’s almost like the Tour de France,” Pogacar said on Saturday. “I’ve come here to win, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. Because we must not forget that I have just completed a large training block.”
Pogacar last competed at the end of April in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. After that, he completed two high-altitude training camps in Sierra Nevada. “They were good training sessions. Now we have to see how the legs are. It’s different from last year, when I rode the Giro before the Tour.”
In the Dauphiné, the 26-year-old Pogacar will meet Vingegaard for the first time this year. With Evenepoel also present, the entire Tour podium from last year is participating.
“If things don’t go according to plan, we shouldn’t panic,” the world champion said. “In the past, the Dauphiné has not always proven to be a preview of what happens in the Tour.”
‘Don’t want to feel pressure for the Tour yet’
“I have to get rid of the mentality that I *have* to win this race,” Pogacar continued. “If I don’t win, I don’t want to feel any pressure for the Tour yet.”
Pogacar is riding the Dauphiné for only the second time. In 2020, he finished fourth, after which he won his first of three Tour victories. “Jonas looks good and I think he will be very strong. But Remco is also there, of course. It promises to be a good race.”
The Critérium du Dauphiné, one of the most important preparation races for the Tour de France, starts on Sunday with a hilly stage.