‘Tadej likes to improve’ – Giro d’Italia time trials a test site for Pogačar before Tour de France

On the eve of the Perugia time trial last week, Tadej Pogačar quietly gave up on the pretence that he had banished all thoughts of the Tour de France from his mind until after he had taken care of business at the Giro d’Italia. “It’s also good training for the summer,” Pogačar said absent-mindedly when asked about the time trial route.

Then again, it was hardly a secret why a sizeable portion of UAE Team Emirates’ planning for Pogačar’s Giro-Tour double attempt had been centred on time trialling.