With nine victories in thirteen days of racing since the start of the season, Tadej Pogacar has launched 2023 on a rather unreal basis. By way of comparison, the brilliant winner of Paris-Nice on Sunday had “only” six successes at the same time last year. At 24, the Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates therefore seems more unplayable than ever in stage races, as evidenced by his career 13/14 in the general classification of these events, with a major exception in the Tour de France 2022. But even Jonas Vingegaard, his scorer on the Grande Boucle, could only salute his superiority after finishing Paris-Nice in third place, 1’39” behind.
“When he attacked, everyone said to themselves: ‘Wow, I’m not even going to try to go with him'”, he said after the ultimate demonstration of “Pogi” to pocket his Sunday third stage victory over Paris-Nice. A recital that pushes Julien Jurdrie, sporting director of AG2R Citroën, to comparisons: “We see that this season, nobody manages to stop Johannes Boe and Kylian Mbappé. Tadej Pogacar is a bit of a phenomenon like that. He is still young and his performance increases by 2-3% each season. It does not scatter, we feel that it exudes a lot of serenity, like an Eddy Merckx. He often gives us headaches but his relaxation is good on the bike. »
“I was stuck in my car”
His extreme versatility in any case leaves only crumbs to the competition, as he seems so far more equipped than Jonas Vingegaard to win wherever he registers. The double winner of the Tour de France proved this in particular during the Tour of Flanders 2022, where he was only beaten in the sprint by Mathieu van der Poel. Julien Jurdrie recounts the impression that “Pogi” had left on him that day, on a racing profile for which he did not seem at all destined.
“It was his first participation and I was glued to my car in front of his sacred number. Van Aert and van der Poel must not be happy to see his name in the start-list for 2023 because he is becoming as much of a favorite as them in this race. »
However, Aurélien Paret-Peintre (11th overall at 7’28”) and fourth ahead of Jonas Vingegaard at the Loge des Gardes (4th stage) symbolized last week “the attacking face” of AG2R Citroën. Another tricolor rider, David Gaudu, even more illustrated to try to thwart the first Paris-Nice of the Slovenian, already unleashed three weeks earlier on the Tour of Andalusia. “”Pogi” is out of the ordinary, he masters his subject like no one else. But despite his obvious superiority, we manage to get closer to him, ”sums up Philippe Mauduit, sports director of Groupama-FDJ.
“We did not imagine being so close”
Because David Gaudu, second overall on Sunday just 53 seconds from the final victory (he was even only 12 seconds before the last stage), confirmed that he had his say in major races, despite a seemingly unbeatable rival. “We were aiming for a podium but we didn’t imagine we would be so close to the overall standings at Paris-Nice,” continues Philippe Mauduit. It’s abysmal to have reduced the gap on the head of 13’39” [et 11 minutes par rapport à Pogacar] less than a minute between the Tour de France 2022 and Paris-Nice. It says the super interesting work of David Gaudu and the whole team. Should we see this as an even greater weakness of the UAE Team Emirates collective, which had left its leader on his own in the middle of the Jumbo-Visma armada in the Col du Granon last summer?
“No, the UAE team has relatively unlimited means and the recruitments this season of Tim Wellens and Felix Grossschartner have been real support for “Pogi” in Paris-Nice”, considers Philippe Mauduit. Despite this seemingly erased Achilles’ heel to regain the Grande Boucle, on July 23 on the Champs-Elysées, UAE can count, in addition to the inevitable Jumbo-Visma, on competition from a Groupama-FDJ determined to continue its rise. in power. “The Tour de France 2022 was founding in order to create a group spirit, reveals its sports director. We no longer endure the race, we do it. The peloton’s attitude is also changing in relation to our team, which has entered the circle of the most respected formations. Our ambition is really to go for the win. The sad years of French cycling, in which the riders knew they were beaten in advance, are over. We now have runners without complex. “Even against one of the most untouchable champions in the discipline, therefore.