'It wasn't easy for him' - Pogacar races on at Tour de Suisse despite partner Zigart's crash

The revamped five-day Tour de Suisse means that the men’s and women’s races take place in the same towns and the same days, and Pogačar had gleaned some useful intel for his raid on stage 1 after watching Žigart compete on the same climbs in the morning.

Žigart crashed heavily in the finale of stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse Women in Locarno on Thursday morning, shortly before Pogačar was due to start the corresponding stage of the men’s race.

Gianetti confirmed that Pogačar had been reassured about the nature of Žigart’s injuries before the men’s race began, and he was provided with further updates on her condition during the stage.

“Just before the start, he got the bad news. I went to see Urska before the start, so I managed to reassure him anyway,” Gianetti told reporters in the mixed zone after stage 2, where Pogačar defended his yellow jersey.

“Fortunately, it’s nothing serious. It was quite a nasty fall because he was going at quite a high speed – over 50kph. He was a bit more reassured, though you can well imagine it wasn’t easy for him. What with the fast stage, the heat and everything, he wasn’t really in the right frame of mind to be racing.”

And yet, Pogačar still had the wherewithal to go on the offensive in the finale, ripping clear of the peloton on the ascent of Via Consiglio Mezzano in the company of Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek).

They chased down the day’s early break and Pogačar came close to overhauling them in the final kilometre, but he had to settle for eighth on the stage, four seconds behind winner Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United).

“Normally, he manages to block out everything else when he’s racing, but not his girlfriend. As you can imagine for anyone, your girlfriend or wife is family, so it’s different. I did see him looking a bit shaken before the start, it wasn’t like usual,” Gianetti said.

“I called the sports director during the stage so he could reassure him. But anyway, it’s all right. He’s a professional. We saw that, in the end, he still tried his best. The breakaway was so far ahead that it was practically impossible to catch up with them, but he still gave it a go right until to the end. Even in slightly tricky moments, he’s such a professional. We can never thank Tadej enough.”

Žigart has been treated in the hospital in Locarno, a mere stone’s throw from the finish line, and Gianetti confirmed that Pogačar would visit here immediately after he had completed the podium ceremony and the anti-doping protocol.

“Of course, straight after the ceremony and the anti-doping, we’ll go to the hospital, as it’s really close, just 300 or 400 metres away,” Gianetti said. “I’ll go with him.

“Thankfully, everything is really stable now, but it’s true, at first, when she was lying on the road, it wasn’t a pretty sight, But thankfully, it’s nothing serious.”