Pogacar already with two stage wins
With two stage wins and the conquest of the yellow jersey in the first week of the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) more and more like the Belgian, who was nicknamed the "cannibal" during his playing days. "Who doesn't always want to win? But I don't see myself as a cannibal," said the 23-year-old at the press conference on the rest day.
Pogacar, who has already won the Tour of France in the past two years, is 39 seconds ahead of the Dane Jonas Vingegaard in the overall standings and 1:17 minutes ahead of the Welsh former Tour champion Geraint Thomas. It doesn't occur to him to leave the yellow jersey to a rider in a breakaway group for a few days in order to protect his own team. "My team-mates love the yellow jersey just as much as I do. You don't give it up that easily. You don't say no to the yellow jersey. It's something special."
Heatwave in the second week of the tour
The captain of the UAE team hopes to take the leader's jersey all the way to Paris. Nevertheless, Pogacar knows that tough days await. The heat in particular could be a factor over the next few days.
"Nobody likes riding in 40-degree weather. It's going to be a tough week with extreme weather. I'm not so bad in hot weather. It was tough days at the altitude training camp too. I know what's coming. I'm not afraid," said the young star.
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