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Tadej Pogačar wants to do the Giro but needs to win the Tour de France

Slovenian opened up about his 2024 program

Philippe Gilbert: Unlike Chris Froome, Tadej Pogačar has panache
November 21, 2023
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Tadej Pogačar isn’t sure if he can do the Giro d’Italia in 2024, but it’s certainly a dream of his.

“The main goals are the Tour de France, the Olympics and the road worlds. That’s in chronological order, not importance,” Pogačar said to La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Riding the Giro is one of my dreams but I can’t say if I’ll ride. I haven’t spoken to my coaches at UAE Team Emirates, we haven’t discussed the details of what I’ll do. I wlll decide on my race program in December. But I might have too many obligations to include the Giro.”

He explained his reasoning as to choosing the French Grand Tour, over the Italian.

“The Tour is a bit bigger. If you want to have a chance of victory, thenyou’ve got to focus on it. The Giro deserves respect and that’s why I have to understand if I can be at my best to ride it. I’ve ridden the Tour four times and won it twice. If we talk about Grand Tours, the Tour is the big goal each season.”

He also chatted about his Tour de France rival, Jonas Vingegaard.

“He’s a great rider, perhaps the best climber out there. He’s also great at preparing to go well for a full month in July, for the Tour,” Pogačar said. “I love riding my bike and I love racing. I don’t like to focus just on one race or one kind of race. Every race has different emotions and needs different preparation. That’s why I like to make changes along the way.”

In 2023, Pog’s TdF was hampered by an injury sustained in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He was off the bike for a few weeks as he nursed his broken wrist. He then had to skip much of his regular pre-Tour races and training. Although he began his attempt to win yellow in earnest, going head-to-head with the Dane, he ultimately would crack on Stage 17. “I’m gone, I’m dead,” he famously said during his sans jour.

Either way, he is enjoying his off-season while he can–soon he will start preparing for 2024. But until then, he’s having some fun. Check out the moves on Pog below.