Pogacar: “It wasn’t the plan, but it turned out well and it was nice to shoot alone”

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE) said after his solo display with a 72-kilometer breakaway in the first stage of the Tour of Switzerland that “that was not the plan,” but noted that once in the lead it was “nice to ride alone.”

“After the sprint, Brandon McNulty and I looked at each other and said: Come on, let’s try something. And we did. Of course, that wasn’t the plan, but somehow it worked out. It was a technical course, so it was nice to go alone,” he explained at the Sondrio finish line.

Pogacar, who called the stage “difficult”, had no connection with his team car, so he did not know what was happening behind him.

“I kept pedaling despite everything. When I knew that the difference was considerable, I managed to find my rhythm and try to hold on until the finish line. It was a long, hard and technical stage. That’s why it was nice to ride alone,” he said.

Before this Thursday’s stage, Pogacar does not rule out that his teammates may have the option of trying for victory in Locarno.

“We have a strong team. We can face the stage with Jonny Narvaez, Brandon McNulty, Felix (Grobschartner) or some other member of the team. We will see how the boys feel,” he highlighted.