Tadej Pogačar: My life is the same as before after winning Tour de France
The 22-year-old Slovenian talks about how his life has changed over the last two years
Tadej Pogačar says his life has not changed since winning the Tour de France, he just has to do more media interviews.
The UAE Team Emirates rider heads into the off-season as the unexpected Tour champion at just 22-years-old.
Pogačar, who beat his Slovenian compatriot Primož Roglič to the yellow jersey on the penultimate day of racing, has reflected on the last two years of his career, having only joined the WorldTour in 2019.
In an interview Spanish newspaper Marca, he said: “My life hasn't changed much since I won the Tour. My life is the same as before, there hasn't been much change. Maybe a few more interviews and media related issues, but nothing too stressful.
“I think that nobody really likes interviews, but they are part of cycling, of this world. So you get used to it and now it's not very difficult to do a few interviews."
After winning the Tour, Pogačar continued to race late into the season, finishing ninth in Fléche Wallone before ending his season with a third-place finish in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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Pogačar added: “I would have love for Primož to win the Tour de France, but I was there to win it.
“It’s just competition and I have great respect for him. He has shown everyone that Slovenia, a small country, can win a Grand Tour.
“He started to emerge three years ago and riding alongside him is a great experience. Now I have beaten him and I have some mixed feelings, but this is the sport.”
Pogačar also looked ahead to the 2021 Tour de France and said there is no clear favourite, but he did discuss Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) as a serious threat for his title defence.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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