Tadej Pogačar might hardly have made shorter shrift of the opposition this 12 months on the Volta a Catalunya because the two-times Tour de France champion blasted his manner via atrocious climate circumstances en path to the race’s first summit end of Vallter 2000 to say each the stage win and the general lead.
Early within the stage Pogačar and his UAE Workforce Emirates teammate Domen Novak had performed a sensible joke on the bunch by hiding in some handy bushes after an early assault, however when it got here to the ultimate climb of the day, the Slovenian was clearly in lethal earnest.
Seemingly undeterred by the freezing rain, sleet, fog and temperatures plummetting in direction of zero on the ultimate Pyrenean climb of the day, Pogačar lived as much as his standing because the overwhelming pre-race favorite with an assault some 7km from the summit.
On Monday at San Feliu de Guixols, the Slovenian simply missed out on the stage victory when he waited a fraction too lengthy to chase down Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech). However this time there was no such hesitation and by the summit, Pogačar’s benefit had yawned open to 1:25 on his closest chaser Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep).
Pogačar was cautious about his probabilities of general victory – and with 5 levels remaining, in addition to shedding a useful climbing teammate Jay Vine to illness, there may be nonetheless loads of time for extra battles. However after simply two days of racing, it is protected to say the 2024 Volta a Catalunya is already his to lose.
“Within the first a part of the race, Israel helped a bit bit however it was kind of every little thing on us to manage the race,” Pogačar stated within the post-race press convention. “After which within the remaining Pavel [Sivakov], Marc [Soler] and João [Almeida] did an incredible job on the climb.”
“João was telling me at the beginning he did not really feel so good, however when he pulled he destroyed all the sector and at one second I used to be pondering he was so good that he might go together with me.”
“We had a bit little bit of a spot already, however he instructed me to attempt to go solo to the end. I knew it might be an extended approach to the highest however I had nice help on the radio too and I gave all of it to the highest as a result of I used to be pondering that right here, possibly,” – he joked and gestured on the sides of the chilly tent, with no heating in anyway, the place the press convention happened – “they might do a press convention in a heat room.”
Press conferences aside, Pogačar’s victory is his second main triumph in 2024 after his epic long-distance breakaway at Strade Bianche.
But when his 81km transfer on the sterrato of Tuscany was proof of his potential to grind out a robust tempo on the rugged off-road, right here the Slovenian offered a robust reminder of his pure climbing potential: with the Giro d’Italia lower than six weeks away, his efficiency that carries even larger resonance.
Pogačar additionally checked out one level to be happening the assault within the first hour of the stage when he and teammate Domen Novak made a seemingly weird two-up transfer 165km out. However this was extra on account of Israel-Premier Tech failing to set a tempo, he claimed, regardless that they had been race leaders. However that enabled him to play a sensible joke on the bunch.
“No person wished to tug, so we got here from behind, me and Domen, and we would like to tug however no one held our wheel,” he stated. “So we had a bit little bit of a spot – 100 metres, 200 metres – so we stopped for a pee and hid within the bushes so the peloton did not know the place we had been so it was just a bit little bit of enjoyable.”
As for the circumstances, which had been no joke in any respect on the Vallter ascent, Pogačar described them as “not that dangerous till the final climb. I used to be not anticipating to be so chilly within the remaining 3km however even when we went full gasoline the gaps had been getting colder and colder.”
Regardless of gaining a margin of 1:24 on closest chaser Mikel Landa on the identical climb the place final 12 months 19 riders completed inside a 90-second timespan, Pogačar commented modestly the race is not but over.
“That is fairly a giant hole, however the race shouldn’t be over but,” he stated. “In the present day I had a extremely good day, however we will see within the subsequent days the way it will develop.”
As for stage 3, one other Pyrenean stage beckons, and Pogačar refused to disclose his technique, declaring that “as we speak Domen did a whole lot of work and Felix [Großschartner]. It relies upon a bit on them.
“We’ll see how the stage goes, I do not need them to undergo a lot,” he concluded. However come what could, as climbing performances go, Pogačar’s trip on stage 2 of the Volta a Catalunya will certainly take for much longer than 24 hours to be forgotten.