World champion Tadej Pogachal admitted to feeling uneasy on the final lap climb after launching an attack 100 km from the finish line at the World Championships in September.

“I asked (the team car) how many laps were still to go, one or two. But I knew that if I had a margin at the top of the long climb on the last lap, I could make it. There was still a chance they could catch me, but after about 10 kilometers to go I was able to relax, but I still wasn't sure until the last kilometer.

Like most of the men's peloton, the Slovenians were watching the race ahead, including the under-23 men who were reeled in in the finale after Jan Kristen (Switzerland) attacked with 51km to go.

“At the start line, nobody wanted to do Jan Christen, sorry Jan, ...... and everyone was thinking, 'Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.'

“It was the best race ever. The whole season was crazy."

”It was the best race I've ever done.

In an extensive interview with MyWhoosh, sponsor of UAE Team Emirates, Pogachar offered insight on many subjects, including the World Championships, the wet descent at Galibier, and off-season planning.

Pogachar's Tour de France victory came on stage 4, where he showcased his downhill skills by successfully holding off a chasing pack on the highly technical Galibier descent, made more difficult by the wet conditions.

“The guys behind me were good on the descent, and Jonas [Vingegaard] can descend really well, so there was a lot of pressure to make up more ground, and I knew the downhill course, so it was a bit easier, but there were some wet corners.

“It was one of the hardest descents I've ever done because of all the switchbacks. Every switchback was basically an all-out sprint, so the effort after 20 minutes of downhill was pretty significant.

He knew, like the rest of the peloton, that he needed to give it his all on the descent.

“The more tired you are, the slower you go downhill. Because you may not have the ability to take a good line.

Pogachar attacked in the final kilometer of the climb and managed to increase the gap to 35 seconds by the time he crossed the finish line in Valloire, 18 kilometers later.

Pogachar has loved descents since he was a child and believes that is why he is so confident and at ease on difficult descents.

“I like going up, but I like going down ten times better. Obviously, I'm not as good as the best descenders on the World Tour, but I need to stay focused and take good lines. I need to think about where I need to go and which line will get me out of the corners the fastest.”

His off-season began the day after his victory at Il Lombardia.

“After the UAE training camp, I'm going on vacation with Urschka [Zigato], relaxing completely for a week and then coming back.