Tadej Pogačar is paving the way to become the favorite at UCI Road World Championships. The UAE Team Emirates rider won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal in Canada, leaving behind a sour Wout Van Aert.
View this post on Instagram
Although Van Aert tried his best to overcome Tadej, he was no match for Pogačar on the uphill sprint. Ultimately, Van Aert had to settle for second place while Andrea Bagioli (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) finished third.
Tadej Pogacar is in high spirits for the upcoming Championship in Australia. Pogacar said:
We can go to Australia with confidence
With the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal in his bag, his eyes are set on a new prize, The Rainbow Jersey. He said:
We are going to Australia tomorrow. So far the shape looks like it’s coming well together. I hope for a good day in the Worlds. It’s a different course than today, it’s also a longer race and so it’s going to be really hard
With his latest win, Pogacar secured 500 UCI points for his team. The two-time Tour de France winner looked ecstatic to beat Wout Van Aert. His celebrations continued all the way up to the podium. Both the riders gave each other a tough match, and although it was the first time that Pogacar was racing in Canada, he still managed to win. Tadej talked about his strategy:
I knew that Wout can do a great sprint and so I wanted to be on his wheel, but he wanted to be on my wheel
Tadej is a team guy and he knows all of it would not have been possible without the support of his team. He acknowledged the hard work everyone puts in a race for the rider to win. He said:
It was not just the sprint, all the race was super hard and the team worked super good. It was perfect in the end but it was difficult because we know that Wout is one of the best sprinters in the world. But this is a tough finish and I believed in myself and I gave it everything and I succeeded
Pogacar opted out of the Vuelta a España but he will be seen representing Slovenia alongside
Tratnik Jan.
Also Read: Matej Mohorič Comes Out To Defend Fred Wright
Featured Image Via YouTube/ menese.com
