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The two Slovenians Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar will probably fight each other for the Tour victory. It is a special duel.
Two friends, two compatriots, two rivals: the duel for the overall victory in the Tour de France will most likely be a Slovenian duel. On the one hand the current leader Primoz Roglic, on the other his challenger Tadej Pogacar, who is 40 seconds behind his rival.
Heading into week three, Roglic said he would like to have a better advantage over his opponent. The 30-year-old knows the strength of his adversary, who is also a good friend. “We are friends, but that doesn’t change the fact that we both want to win,” explained Roglic. “I’m not giving Tadej any gifts.”
Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic
True friends before the start, but bitter rivals in the race.
Keystone
After Pogacar’s victory at the Grand Colombier, voices had been heard that Roglic had generously left the victory to his 9-year-old compatriot. But Pogacar also rejected it. “We are true friends, but not in the last kilometers of the race,” says the young man.
Roglic with benefits in the last week
The friendship between the two great Slovenian flyers will remain in stand-by mode until their arrival in Paris next Sunday. The advantages in the fight for the yellow jersey are not clear, but especially with Roglic:
- The 40-second lead sounds small, but tactically it is of great importance: Pogacar has to act, Roglic can react.
- Roglic’s Jumbo Visma team is the strongest on the field. Hiring Wout Van Aert or Tom Dumoulin as a mountain helper is a heavenly situation. Pogacar has lost two of his biggest fans in his UAE Team Emirates to Fabio Aru and Davide Formolo and is above all a solo fighter.
Like an express train in motion
The Jumbo Visma team with leader Primoz Roglic.
imago images
- The mountain time trial on the penultimate day of the tour at the Planche des Belles Filles is tailored to Roglic, a long piece of rouleur on the plain as an approach before going uphill. There you can play all your strengths, even if Pogacar is not a time trial either.
After the second rest day, the first of the two Alpine stages continues on Tuesday. In the 164 km from La Tour-du-Pin to Villard-de-Lans Côte 2000, five mountain prizes must be completed. Two top-class climbs await you on Wednesday on the way to Méribel.
If Roglic and Pogacar still don’t reveal any weaknesses, the number of skeptics who don’t believe in a clean Slovenian fairy tale should also increase. Roglic tried to blow the wind out of the sails on Sunday after arriving at the Grand Colombier. There is nothing to hide from me. You can trust me in any case, ”he said, referring to two doping tests on the same day.
