Triumphant Pogačar has 'no clear goals'

Slovenian wins fourth Tour, but hints at not going on forever, writes Chris Marshall-Bell in Paris

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Tadej Pogačar comprehensively won his fourth Tour de France on Sunday, but then sparked doubt about his long-term future in the sport, admitting that he might not even be riding when the Tour begins, as expected, in his home country of Slovenia in 2029.

The 26-year-old beat his great rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) by four minutes 24 seconds to become the first reigning world champion to win the Tour since Greg LeMond in 1990. In doing so, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider joins Chris Froome on four Tour titles, and is now just one shy of becoming the fifth rider to win five Tours.

Asked how many Tours he wants to win, he said, “It’s not the goal to win five Tours, and right now I have no clear goals.”

In keeping with comments he made throughout the race, he added: “I’m at this point in my career that if I do burn out I would be happy with what I achieved. To be serious, burnout happens in sport, mental and physical burnout. We do train a lot, and I think cyclists are a bit too obsessed with training. "You see some riders who are fatigued too early in the season, and the team needs you to race, race, race, and you keep going in this circle. Then you get to October and finally get a break, but then in December you do it all again. Burnout happens all the time, and it could happen to me as well.”

When asked about the possibility of a Grand Départ in Slovenia in four years' time, he said: 'As a Slovenian, it is hard to believe that it is true. If I'm a rider, or not a rider, I will probably be there.”

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