Tadej Pogačar is not a morning person, it seems. So it’s a good thing he has fellow pro cyclist Urška Žigart around. On Sunday morning, the day of the 2024 UCI Road Worlds, he missed his alarm. Thankfully, the elite women’s Slovenian road race champion was on the case.
“We had to wake up quite early today, and I’m not a guy who wakes up early, so I had three alarms,” he shared after the race. “First one, turn off, back to sleep, and then Urška woke me up. All good. No stress.”
Getting up on time is crucial for a 6-hour road race. Preparing for the day ahead, getting fuelled, and being calm before the biggest race of the year is key.
And what a race it was!
The men’s race was a little different from all the other road races that preceded it. Starting northeast of Zürich in Winterthur, it hit the Buch am Irchel and Kyberg climbs on the way to the Zürich circuits. Seven 26.8-km laps contained the 1.4-km, 7.2-percent Wilikon climb. The total length was 273.9 km. For once, it didn’t rain on a Zürich 2024 road race.
An early break of 16 riders was up the road, including Slovenian teammate Jan Tratnik—which would prove to be crucial later.
Belgium took over from Slovenia, riding tempo, so the lead was down to 3:40 after one of the seven circuits. Portuguese ace João Almeida packed it in too. With five laps to go, a chase containing Pavel Sivakov and Jay Vine took off. After Primož Roglič took over the pacemaking on Wilikon, Pogačar attacked with 100 km to go.
“For sure it was a stupid move, but in the end, stupid worked,” he said. “Not so stupid anymore. It was not panic. I don’t know what happened really. I felt good at that moment, and I had Jan Tratnik at the front, and when he waited for me, I was really motivated. It was a bit early, but I knew once I had a solid gap, 30 or 40 seconds, there were no big teams to pull at the back. You never know when you can turn on the engine. I never gave up believing to the finish line.”
Once he caught the break, ultimately it was just Pogi and UAE teammate Pavel Sivakov (France) away. The Frenchman did what he could to help Pogačar, but ultimately Pogi had to take off with 50 km to go.
There were moments when Pogačar’s lead looked in doubt—a rare face of suffering was seen with 20 km to go, and suddenly he had barely over half a minute lead. Ultimately, he would pull it together, and the shattered chase group containing all the favorites—Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel, and Ben O’Connor—began playing games, giving Pogačar the buffer he needed.
The exhausted Pogačar came to the line in a glorious victory. The first person he looked for when he finished? Žigart. As soon as he saw her, he sprinted in his cleats, ignoring the fatigue of his 6-hour ride, and embraced his partner in a beautiful sight. Seeing the unbridled joy of cycling’s royal couple was marvelous.
A wonderful moment between World Champion Tadej Pogačar and his girlfriend Urška Žigart #Zurich2024 pic.twitter.com/l710QwsoDo
— Eurosport (@eurosport) September 29, 2024
Urška Žigart’s boyfriend (fiancé) finally did it—he took the triple crown. The first man to do so since Stephen Roche in 1987. And what a way to do it!
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