Defending hefty Tour lead 'wasn't much fun' for Pogacar

UAE Team Emirates-XRG sports manager Matxin Joxean Fernandez has stated that Tadej Pogačar’s hefty lead in the final week of the Tour de France compelled him to race more conservatively than he would have liked.

Pogačar affected something approaching boredom with the Tour in the final week, expressing a wish for the race to be over. Two days after the Tour, UAE confirmed that Pogačar would not race the Vuelta a España next month, preferring to warm up for the World Championships at the WorldTour races in Canada in September.

In an interview with AS, Matxin conceded that the restrained approach required to defend the lead in a Grand Tour didn’t always tally with Pogačar’s attacking instincts.

“He likes to be competitive, and since we had to defend and wait for attacks, that defence isn't much fun, either for the spectators or for him,” Matxin told AS. “It’s in our nature to go on the attack, but when you have a four-minute lead in the overall standings, you also have to be consistent.

“We are used to attacks happening 80km or 50km from the finish line, so now anything that involves waiting until the end seems boring. Why? Because these same riders are the ones who have made us watch races from kilometre zero and they’ve got us used to it.”

Prior to racing the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, Pogačar suggested that preparing for and riding the Tour de France was rather less stimulating than racing the Classics. 

“The Tour of Flanders is probably more exciting, because you have to be in the right place at the right time, rather than waiting for someone to attack you, as happened on the last mountain stage of the Tour. At La Plagne, we saw a somewhat more boring stage, but that’s because it’s not the race leader who has to attack. And that’s not a criticism,” Matxin said.

“What need had Tadej to attack from distance at La Plagne like he had Hautacam? He had four stage wins, the overall victory, and perhaps the lack of competitiveness bored us all a little.”

Speaking to L’Équipe on the final weekend of the Tour, Pogačar indicated that he would return to Paris-Roubaix in 2026 after placing second to Mathieu van der Poel on his debut last April. Matxin agreed that tweaking Pogačar’s programme from year to year was key to keeping him motivated and he didn’t rule out the prospect that the four-time Tour winner might opt to forgo La Grande Boucle in the future.

“Anything is conceivable. Everything has its moment,” Matxin said. “Last year, as soon as the Tour ended, everyone was saying he should go to La Vuelta and make history by trying to win the three Grand Tours in one year. Then he won the World Championship and no one remembered that.”