Le Slovène Tadej Pogacar lors de la 2e et dernière journée de repos sur ce 110e Tour de France et avant la 3e et dernière semaine de la Grande Boucle 2023. Qui va l'emporter entre Tadej Pogacar et Jonas Vingegaard ?
Category
🥇
SportTranscription
00:00 Every year I work better on the heat. It's still something that I don't like too much,
00:10 to ride on 35-40 degrees on a one-hour climb. But yeah, cooling me down, my teammates, they
00:19 really help a lot. It's a big difference in the end in terms of how I feel. I hate
00:29 it, it goes big thanks to all the riders and the staff. It's a big organisation to deliver
00:36 so many balls. It's playing a big part in this Tour de France, I think, keeping me cool
00:44 and everybody else. This is one main thing that we improved a lot from considering the
00:54 last three years.
00:57 And the attacks, attacking a bit less, accelerating a bit less this year?
01:01 I don't know. Last year I was really far behind and maybe I was wanting too much and then
01:10 it's just doing stupid moves. But this year, a bit more controlled. I was not so far behind
01:19 time-wise. I was not just throwing all the bombs at once, but maybe try to one time and
01:32 do it really 100% to gain a few seconds back. It's a bit different situation compared to
01:39 last year, it's a bit more controlled.
01:43 Now that we're 15 stages into this Tour de France, looking back on your fractured wrist
01:48 and how you began this Tour de France, do you think that you're lacking something or
01:52 you did lack something when you began on day one? And how's your assessment right now of
01:57 your condition with your wrist and how it affects your performance?
02:02 I think I did some racing before and now after two weeks of Tour de France I don't think
02:10 this matters anyway. Maybe it will benefit me now in the last week, but we don't know
02:16 yet. It's not comfortable, the wrist still, so you don't pedal with the wrist. The legs
02:28 are good, so that's the most important thing. I'm happy where I am and we will see after
02:35 the Tour how is the wrist and maybe take some rest after.
02:42 And just to follow up on that, this is the closest Tour de France in years, 15 days in,
02:48 and you've made differences, but they've been minor. Yesterday in Saint-Gervais we didn't
02:54 see any differences at all. Do you have a different strategy how you're going to approach
02:57 the next road stages, Col de la Loze and then Les Marques-Dignes after the time trial?
03:04 I think we will have to see it after the time trial how it is, the situation. More or less
03:15 I think Col de la Loze and Les Marques-Dignes will be all out two stages. It will be two
03:23 stages that will decide the Tour. We'll have to wait and see. I think it's going to be
03:32 very interesting. Third week, last week, and a couple of these stages. It's going to be
03:37 very tight, but we will try.
03:41 Which stage do you reckon before the Tour? The last two stages, 17 or 20?
03:48 I did also 17 and also the time trial. Now I know two stages. I don't know Marckstein
03:59 stage so well. I know the area, I know how the roads are there, so more or less it's
04:07 familiar the stage. I know pretty good now Tuesday and Wednesday. These two stages I
04:14 know pretty well. We'll see. From what I saw in the recon, I think it's going to be a super
04:24 hard week coming up.
04:26 Do you think the 17 is the hardest stage or maybe 20 because it looks like, from my point
04:33 of view, like last stage at Welter 19 when you won with a long attack?
04:40 I think the profile-wise, Wednesday is the hardest of this Tour. It depends on what the
04:53 riders want to do on the stage 20. I think this can be really the hardest stage of the
05:00 Tour in the end. We will see how the situation will be. If it's still tight and we need to
05:12 gain some time, it can happen a lot. You need to attack early and that makes the stage super
05:18 hard. Coda Laloza, I think, is just really focused on the final climb. You get a lot
05:26 of climbing before, tired legs, and then it's just the last climb. It's super, super hard.
05:32 I think both stages are going to be super hard.
05:38 How much of the rest of this Tour, this final week, is a psychological battle as much as
05:44 a physical battle?
05:47 Yes, I think it also can be a psychological war, but I think not so much. I think everybody
06:01 focuses on themselves all the time and try to do their own thing, try to do their own
06:07 race. As I see Jonas, he's pretty good in the bunch. He doesn't look too nervous. I
06:22 think he's really strong this year. We'll see. I think he's going to come down to the
06:31 legs this year.
06:33 Do you have any strategies or anything that you use for coping with the pressure of being
06:39 in the final week of the Tour de France with only 10 seconds off the jersey?
06:44 Yes. I don't know. I don't have any way to reduce stress or something. It's just the
06:57 way you need to live with. It's part of the sport to be a little bit under the stress.
07:03 I think everybody has the same. Whether you're 10 seconds behind or not, it's still quite
07:09 stressful coming into the third week. A lot of following the schedule every day, following
07:16 the attacks every day in the race, doing crazy stages. It's stress that everybody needs to
07:25 go over. I don't have any method to reduce it, but it's just the way it is.
07:35 Hello, today. Jonas got the question yesterday and it seems only fair that you get it today
07:40 as well. With you guys going super fast this year and breaking almost every climbing record,
07:47 I understand the skepticism there is about you and Jonas being these supermen of climbing.
07:57 Yes, I understand. I always get this question every year now at the Tour. I don't see any
08:06 difference this year to other years. We are riding fast. I must say, every stage we go
08:15 full. It's a hard one. I understand people that ask questions because what happened in the past,
08:28 some people don't get over it. I completely understand them.
08:33 On the last two stages, you've been taking off your gloves just before the last climb. Why is that?
08:41 I don't know. I like the feeling better on the bike when I'm without the gloves, but
08:45 we all know that gloves are quite important in bike racing. If you crash and you scratch your
08:54 hand, it's not nice. It's really painful and not easy to heal the wounds on your palm.
09:02 I would prefer to ride all the time without the gloves, but it's just in case.
09:11 Okay, thank you.
09:12 Cheers, Michael. We'll go for the last question now in English. Simon, do you want to come in with
09:21 one? Yes, thank you. Just a question about it looks like we will have a one-two with you and
09:30 Jonas for the third year in a row. How would you say your rivalry in a historical context
09:41 is? How big is your rivalry and who do you think has the psychological advantage going into the
09:49 last week? I don't know. I think we both just live and race in the moment. We don't
09:56 look so much at the history and duels and battles, but for sure we push each other
10:02 in all the ways to improve ourselves and improve the team, improve ourselves.
10:09 I don't know who would have an advantage in psychological
10:16 mind, but he has his own mind. I have my own mind, but I must say that I enjoy this battle
10:27 against him in the third year in a row now. It's a good duel and I respect this battle a lot.