2024 Giro d'Italia winner and former double Tour de France champion Tadej Pogachar is feeling even better than he did in the Italian Grand Tour, saying he has "never felt so good on the bike."

In his first interview since winning the Giro, which the UAE Team Emirates racer won comfortably, Pogachar was remarkably positive and cheerfully analyzed his current form going into his second Grand Tour of the season.

"I seem to have taken a step forward since the Giro and I'm in better shape than I expected," Pogachar said in an interview published on the UAE website.

"I had a good workout, I tested my legs a little bit, but I can honestly say I've never felt so good on the bike.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing if the race conditions have improved since the Giro.

Pogachal said he did some easy rides during the week after the Giro before ramping up his training; the leader of UAE Team Emirates is attending a high-altitude training camp but has not raced since the first Grand Tour of the season.

His preparation for his fifth consecutive Tour de France participation is very different from 2023, when he broke his wrist in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"After the crash in Liège, a lot of things went wrong around me. After the crash in Liège, a lot of things around me went wrong.

"There was a lot of disappointment and negative energy around me and it continued until the Tour de France, I wasn't 100% confident

"All of that built up and there were moments when I felt like I was going to crack. It was probably the time trial in Combrue, where Pogachar suffered a heavy defeat to Jonas Vingegaard (Vismaris A-Bike).

"After that time trial, I completely shut down. Also, after the Tour, there was the World Championships, and nothing went right" - he still won a bronze medal in the road race - "but I was able to get back on the bike. Luckily, I was able to recover and finish the season well."

Pogachar said he expects Vingegaard to be in good shape for the Tour despite his injury and long comeback in Ituria Basque. He also noted that two important rivals, Lemko Evenpole (Soudal-Quick Step) and Primoš Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe), will definitely be in the mix.

"Jonas has had a really hard injury. If Jonas is mentally strong and recovering well, then of course we will be ready to see the best of him," Pogachar said. 25]

"Lemko and Primoz were in really good shape at the Dauphiné [Criterium du]. Lemko may have been a little too fast to run at 100%, but Primosch

won outright.

"I think everyone will be at the top of their game at the Tour. I think it will be a really competitive Tour, but you never know what your opponents will be like. Last year I thought I was 100%, but some days I was really good, and some days I wasn't ready."

"I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to compete in the Tour.

Looking beyond the Tour de France, Pogachar reaffirmed that he will not compete in the Vuelta a España, but said the world championships in Zurich are his last major goal of the season.

"Last year I was third at the World Championships," he said. I'm looking forward to the World Championships in Zurich. "Switzerland is a nice country, the roads are good, there are some small climbs, it's going to be a tough race. It would be a dream come true to take the rainbow jersey. "

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