Luka Mezgek claims that Tadej Pogaczal withdrew from the 2024 Paris Olympics solely because his partner, Urška Zigato, was excluded from the Slovenian women's team.

Zigato was excluded from the Olympic team after Eugenia Bujak and Urška Pintar were selected, despite winning the Slovenian national road race title by over 10 minutes.

Pogachar's immediate reaction to the news was a "say nothing" social media post, in which he and Zigato's agent, Alex Carrera, claimed that the Slovenian selectors had "damaged cycling."

Shortly after winning the overall at the Tour de France, Pogachar announced that he had decided not to compete in the Paris Olympics, citing fatigue. At a post-Tour criterium in the Netherlands, Pogachar admitted that Zigato's elimination was also a factor in his decision. 'It wasn't the main reason, but it certainly didn't help.'

Mezgek, who will compete in Saturday's road race from a Slovenian team that includes Matej Mohoric, Domen Novak, and Jan Tratnik, said he believes Pogachar withdrew from the race solely because of Jigaert's omission.

Jayko-Alula expressed his belief that Jigaert deserved to compete in Paris, but suggested that the Slovenian federation should have selected her for the tournament anyway to ensure Pogachar's entry.

"As for the official reason that he is tired, I think it is most unrealistic," Mezgek told RTV Slovenija.

"Even if he were as tired as he is on his deathbed, he would have come here if Urška had been here.

"Even if there was a 1% chance that he would have wanted to stay home for some reason, that percentage would be much smaller if Urška were here. Wherever Urushka is, so is Tadei."

"I don't mean to sound mean, but even if Urschka wasn't at her best, maybe we should have gambled one position for Urschka. But even if she wasn't the best, we should have secured Tadej in this transfer. Unfortunately, the decision makers did not foresee all scenarios."

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Domen Novak of UAE Team Emirates was called up to the Slovenian quartet to replace Pogachar; Novak said that Pogachar did not choose the Olympics because of the effort of completing the Giro and Tour double and the world next month in Zurich. Novak suggested that Pogachar's main reasons for not choosing the Olympics were the effort of completing the Giro/Tour double and his goal of winning the World Championships in Zurich next month.

"I think his goal is to compete in the World Championships at the end of the season. And if he wants to do well there, he has to focus on his recovery and his family."

Pogacal's absence leaves Mohoric as Slovenia's medal contender on Saturday. The Bahrain Victorious rider admitted that he had convinced Pogachar to race in Paris.

"I tried to convince him, but I also understand his decision and his logic," Mohoric said. 'Unfortunately, that's the reality.'

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