Pogacar admits lack of self-confidence, vows to fight on Tour de France
"It's still a long way to go, the Tour is not over" The post Pogacar admits lack of self-confidence, vows to fight on Tour de France appeared first on Multisport Philippines.
Sloveniaâs Tadej Pogacar confesses that he could have been stronger today but is still optimistic about his Tour de France chances in the third week
By Julien Pretot | Lead photo by Papon Bernard/Reuters
LâAlpe dâHuez, France (Reuters) â Tadej Pogacar attacked Tour de France overall leader Jonas Vingegaard twice in the ascent to LâAlpe dâHuez on Thursday in a bid to reclaim the yellow jersey but the defending champion admitted lacking a bit of self-confidence a day after cracking in a grueling Alpine stage.
Vingegaardâs Jumbo-Visma set a devilish pace in the first part of the 13.8-kilometer climb at 8.1 percent, preventing any attack from the 23-year-old, who lost some three minutes when he came under fire from the Daneâs team on Wednesday.
It was only with less than four kilometers to go that Pogacar could make his first move and Vingegaard followed easily, also barely getting out of the saddle when the second attack came.
âHe did some good attacks, he was strong today and luckily I was able to follow him,â Vingegaard told reporters. âHe looked strong. In the end I was there so today was a good day.â
Vingegaard leads second-placed Pogacar by two minutes 22 seconds after the two big Alpine stages but the Slovenian promised he would continue to fight, looking ahead to the Pyrenees in the third week.
âI think after yesterday I was not as confident as I thought Iâd be,â Pogacar said candidly the day after the biggest defeat of his career.
âI could have been stronger today but Iâm ok with the result, itâs still a long way to go, the Tour is not over.â
âI know why I suffered yesterday, this will not happen again. Iâm pretty confident. Jonas is super super strong but I need to find a way to regain some minutes.â
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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