Tadej Pogačar has said that he tested positive for Covid just before heading to the Tour de France Grand Départ in Florence.
The Slovenian two-time former winner of the French Grand Tour explained during his pre-race press conference that he got sick with the virus recently before travelling to Italy for the race start.
However, he was quick to assure the gathered media that he was fully recovered and that his recent illness would not impact the race from his perspective
Pogačar has endured a difficult few weeks amongst the highs of winning the Giro d’Italia for the first time in May. He is set to attempt to become the first man to complete the Giro-Tour double since 1998, it has not been achieved since Marco Pantani triumphed in the yellow jersey that year.
He explained that he also suffered the loss of a close relative amongst his preparations for the Tour while training at altitude at Isola 2000 in the French Alps.
"My grandfather passed away and I went to Slovenia to make a closure [of the situation] and see the family," he said. "It was a bit of travelling but it was really important for me. Then I went back to the training camp [at Isola] but got sick and had Covid. That was a bit of a question mark… but I recovered really good from that."
When asked when exactly he tested positive for the virus, the Slovenian explained that it had been "about ten days" since his positive test and that it had made almost no impact on his training.
He added: "It’s not that serious anymore. Especially if your body already had the virus before and I had it once or twice. It wasn't too bad, just like a cold. It passed really fast. I stopped for one day and then did some rollers inside. Then when I wasn't sick anymore, I was riding outside."
Pogačar has made clear that he is here for overall victory, nothing less. He is widely expected to attempt to ignite the race from the get go during the tough first stage between Florence and Rimini which features more than 3,500 metres of elevation gain.
Marc Madiot, manager of the Groupama-FDJ squad even suggested that the race will be over in “the first three or four days” as the Slovenian and his UAE Emirates teammates look to pile pressure onto the shoulders of Jonas Vingegaard.
Pogačar dismissed claims that the race would be over early. He said that he believes the Dane is fully recovered from his injuries sustained in a horror crash during the Spring and will be ready to challenge him across three weeks.
"It's good to see him at the start," he said. "I think he's ready because otherwise, I don't think he'd be at the start. It's something I'm looking forward to, making a great show again."
"I think the relationship between me and Jonas is extraordinary and that we always meet each other in July. It's crazy that we ride ourselves into history as rivals. I respect him a lot."
The Tour de France begins in Florence on Saturday 29 June.
