Tour de France: Tadej Pogacar injury came at ‘perfect time’ for third title bid

Tadej Pogacar, a two-time Tour de France champion, expressed that the wrist injury he sustained during a crash occurred at the most opportune moment for the 2023 Tour. The 24-year-old cyclist from Slovenia, who competes for UAE Team Emirates, suffered the injury during the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in April. However, the timing of the accident allowed him to rest prior to his pursuit of a third Tour triumph.

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“I’ve already been back on the road for a few weeks now,” Pogacar told the UAE’s National newspaper.

He explained

“Actually you could say it happened at a perfect time. Naturally I didn’t want it to happen like that, but I was due a long break and I guess the injury just forced me to rest a bit more,”

Initially, Pogacar had scheduled a four-week hiatus in anticipation of the Tour, commencing in Bilbao, Spain, on July 1st.

Before the incident in Belgium, he had already won the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, and La Fleche Wallonne.

“It’s been an unconventional preparation with the wrist injury, but it’s been really good overall,” Pogacar said.

The Dane Jonas Vingegaard prevented the Slovenian from winning the Tour de France a third time in a row in 2018.

He did, though, claim to be “excited” about his chances this year.

“We have a great team and understand each other well. There will also be strong competitors so it won’t be straightforward, but we’ll give it a good crack,” he said.

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