Tadej Pogačar Opens up on the Grim Reality of His Tour de France Comedown

Believe it or not, even Tour de France dominator Tadej Pogačar gets tired sometimes.

Speaking to Sportal this weekend, cycling’s KOM-crushing, history-bothering superstar revealed the devastating decompression he experiences in the aftermath of a three-week race.

“Sometimes I’d lock myself in a room and not want to see anyone, and other times I really enjoy socializing,” Pogačar told the Slovenian outlet. “These fluctuations are especially common in the first week, but then things slowly pick up again.

“Other cyclists who return from the Tour say the same thing,” Pogačar said Saturday.

Pogačar spoke to Sportal on the eve of the “Pogi Challenge” cycling festival he hosts in his home town, Komenda.

It was just days after the 27-year-old put an exclamation point on his record-equaling fifth Tour de France title with a thriller 2-up attack through Paris with Mathieu van der Poel.

“The first few days after a Tour go by very quickly, especially if you have the Pogi Challenge waiting for you at the end of the first week,” Pogačar said.

“Urška [Žigart, partner] went to the Women’s Tour, and the obligatory dinner in Paris dragged on, also,” he continued. “The first few days you’re quite tired, your energy fluctuates.”

Pogačar wants six figures to show up

Pogačar celebrated his fifth Tour win late Sunday night with a luxury Parisian dinner, accompanied by his UAE Emirates-XRG teammates and members of the Emirati royal family.

But when the obligations were done, so was Pogi.

He has said after the Tour de France he was desperate to unplug.

Obliterating the fastest Tour de France on record and spending 17 days bogged down in the media obligations that come with the maillot jaune come at a cost.

“I can’t wait to get home,” he said from Paris after stage 21 of the Tour.

“I’m flying back home tomorrow, then I have some house work to do,” he added.

Maybe it’s just as well for the state of Chez Pogi that Pogačar – maybe intentionally – priced himself out of the post-Tour de France criterium circuit.

He reportedly demanded a €100k appearance fee for the lucrative exhibition races that sweep through Belgium and France in the wake of the Tour.

That’s thought to be twice what Remco Evenepoel charges.

Evenepoel earned two juicy pay packets and two “wins” last week at the VIP races in Aalst and Roeselare. The Belgian star backed those up with a “real” victory Saturday at the Clasica San Sebastián. 

Vuelta a España decision on Monday?

Contrastingly, Pogačar, a rider who’s known not to chase the spotlight unless necessary, just wanted to head home.

He didn’t resurface from his post-Tour hibernation until he rolled up to the Pogi Challenge.

“I don’t think too much about training or nutrition,” Pogačar told Sportal of the post-grand tour comedown. “After the Tour, you have to disconnect and reset. You need at least a week to get back to real life.

“You’re in France for a month, you’re going full speed every day, and before that you’ve been preparing for a month or more,” he said. “So when you get home, it’s a bit of a shock.”

Pogačar was the exemplary host of his Pogi Challenge this weekend.  He “won” the marquee race of the event and pulled unicycle stunts in front of thousands of his adoring fans.

So does that mean Pogačar isn’t too tired to race the Vuelta a España later this month?

The rumor mill is spinning with chatter over whether the 27-year-old will finally make his return to the Spanish race where his grand tour legacy began.

Pogačar suggested Saturday the Vuelta speculation might be over pretty soon.

“Maybe. We’ll see. We’ll see on Monday,” he said.