Pogačar’s teammate reveals he was closer to defeat at the Tour than many realized

In October, on the Tour 202 podcast, Tadej Pogačar revealed just how tough this Tour de France was for him.

Pogi called the 2025 Tour the hardest edition of his career.

“This was the fastest Tour ever. The course was brutal, full of traps and sharp finishes,” Pogačar said. While his team controlled the race through the second week, highlighted by an impressive time trial, things changed in the Alps.

“I wanted a big win there, especially revenge on the Col de la Loze,” he said. “But after Ventoux, I started having knee problems. The weather was awful, freezing cold. I doubted if I’d continue. My body was in shock.”

Pogačar added, “A three-week race is never easy. We’re already tired after the first week, and then there’s still so far to go.”

The 2025 almost ended early for Pogačar

Turns out his knee problems were even worse than he admitted to. In an interview with L’Équipe, Team UAE Emirates rider Tim Wellens said it was pretty brutal. After Stage 17, the world champion told Wellens, “Tim, we have a problem, my knee hurts.” The pain was so bad the doctor said to go to the hospital.

“They found an inflammation, and nobody knew,” he added. Suddenly, the team worried that Pogi might not make it to Paris. “He was in a lot of pain and we doubted he’d make it to the finish. We even considered that he wouldn’t be able to make it to Paris. And on the team bus, we could see he wasn’t doing well.”

But thankfully, Pogačar made it to Paris—and almost won the final stage. On Montmartre, Wout van Aert was one of the few riders who managed to drop him. Perhaps this all makes sense now—no offense to Van Aert, but it was quite the sight to see the yellow jersey get popped when he’s been seemingly unbeatable.

“It was a relief that he didn’t give up in the mountains. Everyone was curious why he wasn’t attacking, which is understandable,” Wellens said. “Afterwards we worried about him physically. But mentally I was surprised to read he wanted to go home, because we all actually had a great time together.”