Tadej Pogačar entered the Tour de France this year saying he had nothing to lose after an interrupted lead-up but nine days in, the Slovenian prodigy is now in game mode.
Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) trails race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) by a mere 17 seconds after nine stages in which the pair have gone head-to-head multiple times.
Vingegaard has the maillot jaune but Pogačar, after an off day on stage 5, can feel the momentum gathering, following his victory at Cautarets-Cambasque and after putting more time into the defending race champion on the Puy de Dôme yesterday.
"I feel that I have some sort of momentum, but I don't know if [it is] over Jonas. I just feel good every day," he said. "Today was a good rest day and I'm ready to go racing again tomorrow. I'm really happy so far with this Tour and feeling day by day better."
Speaking on the first rest day of the Tour de France on Monday afternoon to dozens of people who logged on for his press conference, Pogačar teased that more was to come. He refuted a suggestion from one journalist who claimed Jumbo-Visma crunched numbers and deduced his ascent up the extinct volcano was his best 35 minutes ever climbing.
"They don't know all my trainings or all my race data. They don't know how much I weigh, they don't know a lot about me... I mean, they can assume, but I can tell you it was one of the good [ones] but could be better," he quipped.
Pogačar lost his own title defence last year after Jumbo-Visma put on a tactical masterclass during stage 11. The team used all of its resources to isolate and exhaust the 24-year-old and deliver Vingegaard to the stage win and yellow jersey, which the Dane didn't relinquish.
Pogačar seems adamant that history is not repeating itself.
"I think they will try everything to set up for one stage and try to crack me again but now we'll see," he said. "I have good enough motivation to be prepared for everything. I'm ready for all their tactics. I try to be ready for anything they do."
Pundits and some of Pogačar's rivals have noted that he is riding smarter rather than impulsively at this year's race, which the current white jersey leader puts down to experience.
"Now I've done three Tours de France and each Tour gives you experience. It's the most important race of the year. It's nice to win a race with 50km solo but on Tour de France you need to know there are three weeks and each day you can pay the price for the effort you make one day before. In [a] three-week race, you need to race with your head. You cannot just go crazy in one day," he said.
Pogačar also has arguably a stronger arsenal at his disposal, having lost many teammates to positive results from internal Covid-19 testing at the Tour last year. Adam Yates is a strong addition, currently fifth overall, albeit more than four minutes down.
"He's in super shape and I think he's just getting better and better as well in this Tour. I think we can play really good in the upcoming stages. He's a great teammate and to have him so close in the GC, I can be a bit more relaxed I would say," he said of Yates.
Pogačar is confident in his form going into the second half of the Tour, despite his lack of racing in the immediate lead-up to it, due to a wrist injury in April, which ended an otherwise emphatic spring and early season campaign comprised of 13 victories.
"I'm not surprised," he said of his performance so far. "I was more surprised when I lost time on [the Col de] Marie Blanque [on stage 5], but I knew that I was good coming here to the Tour.
"I shouldn't be surprised by my performances because I know myself. I think we have a really nice rivalry here with Jonas. I think already last year was one of the best Tours ever and I think this year already the first week has gone by and a lot happened. It's a good time. We drop the bombs on each other each stage, he's one ahead and I think it's a really good competition."
