Domen Novak was handpicked as Tadej Pogačar’s most-trusted domestique more than two years before he could assume the role. “He called me after the Giro d’Italia in 2020,” the elder Slovenian says, remembering riding the Italian race for Bahrain-Victorious, “and he said he’d like to take me onto the team. He told me that he needed a rider like me and that UAE was different to Bahrain.”
Novak would ride another two seasons with Bahrain-Victorious, the team with whom he stepped into the WorldTour in 2017, but after finally joining UAE Team Emirates in 2023, he has established himself as Pogačar’s preferred right-hand man. “I am super, super happy that I signed,” Novak, 29, tells Rouleur. As Pogačar has steamrolled his way through the season, winning the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, a couple of Monuments and a host of others races in between, Novak has been the world champion’s teammate on 34 of his 57 race days, five more than João Almeida and Pavel Sivakov, the next most common companions.
“In my first year I didn’t race so much with him, but this year we’ve raced more together and we know each other quite well,” Novak says. “A lot of the time he is on my wheel and I don’t need to look because I know he’s there. We’re always thinking the same things, like it’s good to be in the front, and he’s always following me.”
Novak with Pogačar during the 2024 World Championships (Image by SWpix.com)
Being regarded as a safe pair of hands by the world’s best is a task that only a few can do. What makes Novak fit the bill? “My best quality is that I can die for other guys,” he says. “I can perform much better for others than I can for myself. This is just me.” Honesty is also key. “Sometimes I have to say, ‘fuck, Tadej, I’ve done my maximum today, but I can’t do any more’. When I am with Tadej, I am more motivated. He is the best rider in the world, my good friend, and we enjoy our time together.”
Few moments have been as enjoyable as Pogačar’s first stage race of the season, the Volta a Catalunya back in March. “He finished second the first day, and on stage two, no team was pulling [to bring the breakaway back] so me and Tadej attacked,” he narrates. “We had about one minute, no-one followed us, and Tadej said to me, ‘fuck, maybe we wait’. I said: ‘no, let’s take a right on this roundabout, have a piss, wait for the group, hide in the bush, jump in front…