Just as UAE Team Emirates riders were settling into their hotels ahead of Paris-Nice starting on Sunday, their teammate, Tadej Pogačar, was hundreds of miles away putting in an attacking masterclass on the white gravel roads of Strade Bianche.
Many were left speechless at Pogačar’s daring 81 kilometre solo raid which resulted in a second victory at the Italian Classic for the Slovenian.
One man who wasn’t totally surprised at Pogačar’s exploits was Jayco-AIUla’s Michael Matthews. The Australian has trained regularly with Pogačar near their base in the south of France.
Matthews told Cycling Weekly in Les Mureaux that after he had ridden with the Slovenian recently it was clear he was going to hit the ground running in 2024.
"I think the whole cycling world was watching yesterday," Matthews said. "It was just a phenomenal performance. He did exactly what he said he was going to do.
"He said he was going to attack from that section from 80 kilometres to go and he just annihilated the peloton."
"We haven't trained together for the last few weeks as I've been away," he added. "But yeah, before that it was a lot and you could see that everything was going in a good way for him that's for sure."
UAE Team Emirates DS Marco Marcato was glued to the television as he watched Pogačar’s attack unfold in the rain on the Monte Sante Marie gravel sector.
The Italian told Cycling Weekly that Pogačar continues to surprise his coaches with his performances on a yearly basis.
Marcato said: "It was just amazing to see and actually because he also declared before the start 'I'm going to attack on Monte Sante Marie' and then he did it.
"When you see the kilometres to the finish, 80 km, it was just huge and it's really a lot but Tadej is Tadej and he did it.
"Of course we are speaking about real talent and he's making the history of the new cycling, modern cycling.
"Actually every year we think okay, maybe he is at the limit but he always surprises us and he can just do better every time."
Marcato explained that he is constantly impressed with the two time Tour de France winner’s dedication to the sport and improvement in training.
"He is a great, really good guy and it is a real pleasure to work with him," he added. "But at the same time he is also really professional and focused on what he's doing. He just shows the champion that he is all the time."
Pogačar is set to make his Giro d’Italia debut in May before making a return to the Tour de France two months later.
Portugal’s João Almeida is set to line up alongside the Slovenian at the Tour for UAE Emirates as well as the likes of Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov.
Ahead of stage one of Paris-Nice, Almeida explained that he couldn’t pull himself away from watching the action unfold in Italy on Saturday.
"I was watching the whole afternoon,” he said. “It was such an impressive effort. He can still surprise us all the time so it's so impressive. He is a pleasure to race with."
