'I've never felt so good on the bike', warns Tadej Pogačar ahead of the Tour de France

GC favourite has made a 'step forward' since the Giro d'Italia, he says, but expects rivals to be on top form

Tadej Pogačar in the white jersey at the 2023 Tour de France
(Image credit: Getty Images / Marco Bertorello)

It's an ominous warning to his rivals, and a major departure from the usual downplay of form by bike race favourites – Tadej Pogačar has said he has "never felt so good" on the bike ahead of the Tour de France.

If we thought we were going to have to play a cagey game in order to find out whether the UAE Team Emirates rider has been left tired by his emphatic Giro d'Italia victory in May, we were wrong, it seems. Speaking on his team website, the affable Slovenian has answered the question for us.

"It’s looked like I’ve made a step forward since the Giro," he said, "and my shape is even better than what I expected. I’ve done some good training, and I’ve tested my legs a little bit and to be honest, I have never felt so good on the bike."

There's always the chance he could be bluffing – though that doesn't feel like Pogačar's way. And there is also the danger of reaching peak form too early to consider.

Pogačar himself has experience of injury ahead of the Tour of course – breaking his wrist in last year's Liège-Bastogne-Liege – and he talks about that in the UAE piece, which covers a lot of ground. It's another passage from which Vingegaard et al might want to look away. 

"Last year was totally different because of the injury," he said. "No one prepares like that for the Tour if they’re not injured, and so many things around me didn’t go well after the crash in Liege."

He doesn't dismiss his rivals though, giving their form a little light scrutiny and pronouncing them by a large, good to go.

"Jonas was really injured, really hard, but I think he’s going to be fine," he says, adding: "We saw with Remco and Primoz that they were in really good shape at the Dauphine, maybe with Remco it was a little too soon to be flying 100% but Primoz was in really good form. I think they are all going to be at a top level at the Tour."

Lastly, he answers the question in the minds of many – will he attack straight out of the blocks?

"I mean, at the Giro it worked well, so we can see," he teased. 

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After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.

Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.

He has worked at a variety of races, from the Classics to the Giro d'Italia – and this year will be his seventh Tour de France.

A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.