‘Pogacar never gives up’ as compatriot Novak refuses to rule out Worlds return

Tadej Pogačar has not yet been completely ruled out of the World Championships in Montréal, according to Slovenian teammate Domen Novak.

Pogačar is recovering from a concussion, a displaced fracture of his left collarbone and a stable C7 cervical fracture following his heavy crash at the Vuelta a España.

“I’ve sent Tadej a few messages over the last couple of days,” Novak told Sporza. “But I don’t want to disturb him too much. He needs rest so he can recover as quickly as possible.”

The world champion has since successfully undergone surgery on his fractured collarbone after receiving medical clearance to proceed with the operation.

The men’s road race in Montréal takes place on September 27, leaving Pogačar less than four weeks to recover.

“They say it will be difficult,” Novak said. “And I also think it will be difficult to be fit for the World Championships.”

“But Tadej is a hard worker. He never gives up and he is trying to recover quickly.”

According to Novak, the collarbone injury itself is not necessarily the biggest concern. The effects of the concussion remain harder to predict.

“He should recover quickly from the collarbone fracture,” Novak said. “But we don’t know how long the concussion will continue to affect him.”

For that reason, Novak stressed that there will be no pressure on Pogačar to return simply to defend the rainbow jersey.

“The most important thing is that he is 100 percent recovered,” he said. “It is not a must for him to start the World Championships.”

UAE Team Emirates-XRG boss Mauro Gianetti has also played down the likelihood of a return in Montréal, while stopping short of ruling it out completely.

“Of course, recovering in time for the World Championships doesn’t seem likely,” Gianetti said. “But we’ll see how things progress over the next few days.”

Should Pogačar miss the Worlds, Slovenia will have to reconsider its leadership options. Novak suggested Jan Tratnik could become one of the team’s protected riders.

“I don’t know,” Novak said when asked who could lead Slovenia in Pogačar’s absence. “I think Tratnik could maybe be our man. He has shown in the past that he can do it and he has already come close to the podium.”

There could still be another target for Pogačar later in the season, with the European Championships taking place in Slovenia in early October.

“If Tadej misses the World Championships, I hope he can come back for the European Championships,” Novak added.