Swiss Mauro Gianetti, director of the UAE Team Emirates cycling team, said in an interview with STA that Slovenian ace Tadej Pogačar will be back on the bike in a few days.
However, the team remains cautious in predicting where the 24-year-old from Klanac pri Komenda will appear on the start list in preparation for the Tour de France.
At the Liege-Bastogne-Liege monument on April 23, the pastry chef fell on one of the shorter descents and broke two bones in his wrist. In Belgium, the number one in world cycling was immediately operated on and advised to rest for five weeks.
According to this timeline, five weeks will pass precisely on the Monday after the end of the Giro d’Italia. Since the Slovenian ace survived the procedure well, and the recovery also went without complications, he will soon get back on the bike and start training, says the head of the Emirates team.
They will see what level he has kept“In the next two, three days, we hope, he will start training with a road bike. We hope that this will be early enough to properly prepare for the Tour,” 59-year-old Gianetti said about the team’s first star. For now, it is not clear where and when Pogačar will return to the roads competitively before the race in France. “We don’t know that yet and we have to wait a little while until he starts training on the bike. We’ll give him a week to see what level he’s kept. We don’t know how much strength he lost in the last weeks when he wasn’t on the bike . Before we make decisions about his calendar, we need to see how he’s doing. We’ll take at least ten days.” the Swiss expert said about the deadlines for the next decisions.
He will work very hard for the TourIf it really takes ten days or two weeks, including the days until the start of training, the two-time winner of the Tour (2020, 2021) could presumably compete in his home Race around Slovenia. On it, he would defend two consecutive victories from June 14 onwards. But Gianetti did not confirm this either. But he is satisfied with his psychological state. “You know, this is Tadej, he is doing well at the moment, he will work very hard for the Tour. We are going to the race in France to win, but this goal is not binding. It will be the same for him, this is his dream. We know that the road to the Tour and there is still a long way to go before we are properly prepared. However, we have enough time and we believe in it, so we will continue working with a smile on our faces.” added Gianetti about Pogačar and the team’s goals.
Source: Rtvslo
