[Sport]The endless embrace of 'Matxin' and the ecstasy of Pogacar: "I still can't believe it

[SougarLord]

 

The effort of the last ramp of La Planche des Belles Filles had been so explosive that it still did not allow him to catch his breath. Tadej Pogacar waited until the arrival of Primoz Roglic to see with his own eyes that he had won the Tour de France with an exhibition to remember. When he could get some air, he received the most effusive of congratulations. An endless hug from Josean Fernández, 'Matxin', Team Emirates sports director.

 

"I still can't believe it. It's a dream. They were telling me about it on the radio, I was pushing harder and harder and in the end I got it," said the Slovenian at the finish line, who beat Tom Dumoulin and Richie Porte in 1:21 . "It's going to be difficult for me to assimilate. It has been incredible. Winning the Tour was not a dream in my youth, because the dream was simply to participate in the Tour," he added.

He had just become the second youngest winner in Tour history, behind only Henri Cornet. The feat of the Frenchman in 1904, at 19 years and 352 days, now finds a worthy successor in the hands of Pogacar, who will turn 22 next Monday.

 

TWO MILLION TOKEN

Sunday's triumphant ride to Paris will be the best reward for the Emirates team, led by 'Matxin'. "Tadej is perfection made a cyclist. A good person, grateful and with a smile always on his mouth," said the Basque coach last week. The hug at the finish line, where he lifted his disciple more than a foot off the ground, corroborated their mutual admiration.

 

'Matxin' had bet very hard on the boy, who in 2019, during his first stage as a professional, won the Tour of California and three stages in the Vuelta a España, where he climbed to the third step of the podium in Madrid. In fact, the interest of the rivals, with Team Ineos at the helm, forced the owners of Emirates to multiply the chip of their young promise.

 

According to current estimates, Pogacar charges two million euros a year, an amount slightly lower than other great figures, such as Richard Carapaz, Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde or Julian Alaphilippe.

 

"I DIDN'T THINK OF TURNING IT BACK"

Cyclists, some of whom are far behind him in terms of age, who was once again seen - youth - as he spoke. "Honestly, I was not thinking of turning the situation around. Roglic has been riding well for three weeks and today he had a bad day, but no one could tell. Only when he arrived and greeted me did I realize that he had won the career ", admitted the boy, very excited.

 

Everyone at the finish line was aware that they were living a moment to remember, one of those unforgettable days at the Grand Boucle. "The Tour has not been lost by Roglic, Pogacar has won it. It has been something incredible, the truth is that we did not expect it. We thought he could pay for the effort last week, but we have seen that before he threw two balls, he really had two balls. We enjoyed it ", said Mikel Landa, fourth today in Paris, with Enric Mas behind. "Fifth place is to be happy," confirmed the leader of Team Movistar.