Duplantis, Kipchoge, LeBron, Nadal, Alcaraz, Biles … These are some of the names that illuminate the extensive catalog of stars that have the Paris Olympics, but a few days before the start of the Games, it is confirmed that the constellation will be somewhat smaller.
This very afternoon, July 23, it became official: Tadej Pogacar will not attend the Games. The Slovenian, as advanced by the Slovenian agency STA, will not travel to Paris to compete in what was to be his second Olympic Games, after his debut in Tokyo with a bronze, after Carapaz and Van Aert.
As confirmed to the Spanish newspaper AS by his representative, Alex Carera, the Slovenian made the decision due to the enormous fatigue accumulated in the last three months of competition, which in his case were at maximum demand.
In that period he made history by winning the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, a historic double that he confirmed in Nice last Sunday to succeed Marco Pantani, the last rider to achieve such a feat in 1998. His replacement, as confirmed by his country’s federation, will be his compatriot and UAE teammate, Domen Novak.
In addition to this obvious reason, the decision to quit the Games also points to the controversy of recent days, during the Tour de France. Pogacar complained publicly on his social networks when the Slovenian cycling federation announced that it was not including his partner, Urska Zigart, in the Olympic team.
Her resignation, despite the scarce hour and a half that separates Monaco (where she lives) from Paris by plane, would also be motivated by this sporting decision that left out Zigart in favor of an Urska Pintar (38 years old) whose coach is, in turn, sports director in the UAE women’s team. As a curiosity, both riders met this year at the Slovenian nationals and Pintar finished second, more than 10 minutes behind the winner Zigart.
Pogacar, who was going to be part of the Slovenian national team for the long-distance race, will reappear in competition in the Canadian classics (Quebec and Montreal) next September, since the UAE team confirmed that “she will not be in La Vuelta at 100%”.
Those races will be the starting point to fine-tune his preparation for what will be his last big goal of the season: the World Championships in Zurich (September 29). “I want Van der Poel’s rainbow,” he joked recently. Although on asphalt you already know with good old Pogi: he takes no prisoners.
Source: Marco González, Diario AS