After Tadej Pogačar was left “shaken” by the high-speed crash of his partner Urška Žigart during the women’s Tour de Suisse stage that preceded his on Thursday, the World Champion said “she’s in good spirits” and will be released from the hospital today.
In the wake of the scary incident, which occurred over an uneven road surface and left Žigart with a fractured jaw and potential concussion, race leader Pogačar had to complete his podium duties, but understandably didn’t speak to the media after lighting up the finale on Thursday.
He was back in the mixed zone at the start of stage 3 and provided a positive update on his Slovenian compatriot’s condition, expressing how her fighting spirit has given him more motivation to win the race he already leads by 2:50.
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“No, it’s all good, if you’re referring to Urška’s crash,” he said of his mindset after yesterday’s incident, as reported by CyclingProNet.
“I visited her yesterday after the stage in the hospital, they kept her there overnight, and today she’s released from hospital, and yeah, she’s in good spirits.
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“Also, she’s really a fighter, she’s strong, so that also gives me motivation for the next days, because she wants me to bring this jersey home, and to see her as soon as possible on Monday.”
Pogačar was also able to debrief the finale of the second stage, which he attacked at full gas to try and get the victory for teammate Jhonatan Narváez, before eventually having to pursue the remnants of the breakaway on his own.
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He went away over the final climb alongside a flying Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), but despite their best cooperative efforts, they were unable to pull back five of the original break of 14 who had gone up the road earlier in the day, with Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United) taking victory.
“We had a plan to go for the stage, either with Johnny or Brandon or me, but the breakaway was so strong, and we managed to keep the gap good, but it was also super hot, so a lot of cramps in the legs for the guys,” said Pogačar.
“Then on the climb we bring down the good gap, and then the last climb, maybe we just missed a little bit to arrive, me and Johnny together to the top with Mathias Vacek also, and if we arrive all three to the top, we will have more chance to catch the breakaway.
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“But I must really say they were committing so good and they deserved the victory as well, and chapeau, it was for sure good to see the race as a fan yesterday.”
While overall victory is all but guaranteed for Pogačar, barring incident or injury, he will no doubt still attack the stages at the weekend with an eye on getting fully tuned-up for the Tour de France, on the individual time trial and queen stage to Villars-sur-Ollon.
Friday’s stage starting in Bad Ragaz is the best day for the sprinters, but don’t be surprised to see Pogačar trying to win another day for his teammates. He’s said the responsibility is with those wanting a bunch finish, but has shown already this week that instinct can outweigh any plans, having attacked the first stage solo with 72km to go.
“It’s a hard stage from the beginning, and eases up the last 50km, but I think we can follow the moves, and we see how the breakaway is, because yesterday they made it to the finish,” he said.
“I think today also is a day for breakaway; it’s a bit too hard for to be controlled by the bunch for the sprint, but we will see. It’s not a lot up to us today, and we just need to stick together, do our best, and stay safe.”
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