Contador Talks About Pogocar, Sagan And Tour Dark Horses – ‘The Rider Everyone Wants To Beats’

Tadej Pogacar is bidding for a Tour de France hat-trick when the race kicks off on July 1, but who could stop the 23-year-old? Two-time champion Alberto Contador has revealed who he thinks could challenge Pogacar, and who might be a surprise name to challenge for a podium place. Contador has also given his thoughts on Peter Sagan, who is bidding for an eighth green jersey.

Alberto Contador has outlined who he thinks could challenge Tadej Pogacar as he bids to win the Tour de France for a third year in a row.

Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) has emerged as the dominant force at the Tour and is the favourite to secure another yellow jersey when the race starts in Denmark on July 1.

Pogacar is the two-time defending champion and comes into this year’s Tour looking in strong form.

But two-time winner Contador thinks Jumbo-Visma duo Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard could test Pogacar.

Vingegaard finished second at the Tour a year ago and Eurosport’s cycling expert Contador said: “He’s a rider who put Pogacar in trouble and we know he’s very strong as we saw in the Dauphine [when Vingegaard finished second behind Roglic].”

Pogacar’s fellow Slovenian Roglic is a three-time Vuelta a Espana winner and finished second at the Tour in 2020.

“It will be a very important duel because they know each other well and other teams will try to benefit from this rivalry,” said Contador.

“In fact, the duel will be Pogacar vs Jumbo in reality because not only Roglic will be watching.”

On Pogacar, Contador added: “He is a favourite not only because of his recent victories but also because he has won the last two editions of the Tour de France because that gives you a plus of experience and hierarchy.

“Right now, he’s the rider everyone wants to beat in the Tour de France. It is true that we have seen a few duels between Tadej, Roglic and Vingegaard and you have to think that we are seeing athletes who are rising fast from the junior ranks to the professional ranks and competing with guarantees in the best races.

“There is no telling how long Tadej’s dominance will last because it has happened with all the big names. Pogacar stands out for competing extraordinarily well in time trials and also very well in the mountains. He is a very complete rider, and he proves it in every race.”

While Pogacar, Roglic and Vingegaard have been tipped as the strongest trio at the Tour, Contador thinks Bora–Hansgrohe’s leader could make the podium.

“Aleksandr Vlasov is the one I can think of who could surprise in the top three,” he said.

There will also be plenty of focus on Peter Sagan as he looks to win the points classification for an eighth time.

Sagan has had a difficult start to the year after switching to Team TotalEnergies and recently tested positive for Covid-19 for the third time in 18 months.

But he comes into the tour with a stage win at the Tour de Suisse and also after winning the Slovakian National Road Race Championships for the eighth time in his career.

“Peter got a victory in Switzerland and he will be motivated to make a good participation in this Tour de France,” said Contador.

“Sagan is very careful and if he is not at 100 per cent of his level everything gets magnified.

“I don’t think it’s the end of his professional career. Sport is not pure mathematics and not every day your feeling is the same and you can’t race in the same way. This kind of thing was also said about [Mark] Cavendish, and he proved the opposite. With Sagan I would be cautious before retiring him.”