After defending his lead within the Tour de Suisse on stage 2, Tadej Pogačar dutifully went by means of the motions of the rostrum shows of his three leaders’ jerseys.
However the World Champion didn’t give interviews as he raced to a close-by hospital to see his accomplice, Urska Žigart, who was injured in a high-speed crash throughout the girls’s Tour de Suisse stage that preceded his.
Chatting with race broadcasters, UAE Group Emirates-XRG supervisor Mauro Gianetti defined that the incident affected Pogačar’s manner however not his professionalism.
“Sadly, simply earlier than the beginning, he learn the unhealthy information,” Gianetti mentioned. “I went to see Urska earlier than the beginning, so I reassured him that, thankfully, it is nothing severe, regardless that it was a giant crash, as a result of it was at excessive pace of greater than 50 kph. We will reassure him, however you may think about that it is not simple for him. He did not appear to be in any temper to race.”
The 2026 version is the primary 12 months that the 2 WorldTour races are going down on the identical days, somewhat than every week aside as in previous years.
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Žigart crashed on an uneven highway floor simply exterior of the kilometre to go banner within the girls’s 105.6km stage, and since the incident got here inside the remaining 3km, she was listed within the outcomes as ending.
Nevertheless, information got here from her AG Insurance coverage-Soudal group that she had suffered a fractured jaw within the fall.
Pogačar was understandably upset by the information, however after profitable stage 1 of Tour de Suisse with a 72-kilometre assault, he had the yellow jersey to defend.
“As soon as the race had began, I went again to the hospital, then referred to as the DSs, who have been in a position to reassure him,” Gianetti mentioned.
Pogačar went on to complete simply behind the breakaway – Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United) received the stage – and lengthen his general lead.
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“He is an expert, we noticed that on the finish – he nonetheless tried to do one of the best. The breakaway was so far-off that it was virtually unimaginable to chase it down, however he tried all the way in which to the tip,” Gianeti mentioned.
“Even within the extra sophisticated moments, he is so skilled. There are by no means sufficient phrases to thank Tadej.
“Usually, he manages to close out every little thing round him, however not his accomplice. As you may think about, household is totally different. He appeared a bit shaken earlier than the beginning; it was not like regular.”
In 2022, Pogačar put household forward of racing when Žigart’s mom died earlier than Liège-Bastogne-Liège, dropping out of that race to remain dwelling with household.
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