‘I’m not thinking about any history, clubbing, or whatever’ – Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar has his name in lights but keeps his feet on the ground

But despite the place he has just taken in the pantheon of this sport, he does not seem remotely bothered with history or legacy.

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“Right now I just want to enjoy the moment of winning the Tour. If it’s my fifth, or my first, it doesn’t matter. It’s unbelievable to wear the yellow jersey in Paris and cross the line wearing it,” Pogačar said.

“I’m not thinking about any history, clubbing, or whatever. I just want to relax, come back home, and enjoy the small things in life.

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“I’m really happy and proud to win a fifth Tour, but every single one has a different story, a different meaning, different emotions. Each one of them feels incredible and unbelievable for me.”

The response was classic Pogačar, the abnormally gifted champion athlete who also just wants to live a normal life. Not many manage it, but there again Pogačar seems to be breaking new ground.

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“I’m flying back home tomorrow, then I have some homework to do,” he said of his first moves as a five-time Tour winner.

While most yellow jerseys will cash in on their success on the lucrative post-Tour criterium scene, Pogačar seemingly has no interest in going through the motions for the sake of a bit of extra cash. He has only once accepted Tour organiser ASO’s invitation to their late-season exhibition criteriums in Asia, and that was in 2023 when he didn’t have the yellow jersey to parade.

Tadej Pogacar celebrates his Tour win on Sunday with his partner Slovenian pro rider Urška Žigart (Image credit: Getty Images)

Pogačar will be present at a criterium on Friday, but it will be his own event, in his home town of Komenda, Slovenia, kicking off a weekend that will culminate with the Pogi Challenge amateur ride on Sunday. The whole event will raise money for his own charity, the Tadej Pogačar Foundation.

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“I have a crit race in my home town on Friday night, with some special guests, from the Tour as well – big riders, so thanks to them for coming. Then Pogi Challenge with kids and families and amateurs on Sunday. So it’s a big weekend for me.”

After that, it’s back to France.

“I hope I can see some stages of the Tour de France Femmes, to see Urška riding in the Tour,” he added, referring to his partner Urška Žigart, a fellow pro who rides for AG Insurance-Soudal.

The Pogačar that sat before us uttering these words was very different to the one sitting in the same Parisian leisure centre 12 months ago. Back then, he was exhausted – physically injured but rather mentally spent, having gone the last few days of the race going through the motions.

This time, he seemed almost as fresh as he did in Barcelona three weeks ago, cracking jokes and gently mocking his teammate Isaac del Toro to his left.

“I don’t say that last year I was burning out but I was well aware it can happen. I’m also aware now even,” he said.

“The burnout doesn’t mean you’re sad one day or don’t feel good one day on the bike. Burnout means chronic fatigue and you’re not happy on the bike, and everything feels like a job for you and it’s hard.

“I’m aware it can happen if you push so far. That’s also why I don’t say right now ‘I go to the Vuelta, I do this and that and all the races’. I also need to think about this and keep the feet on the ground.”