Pogacar unfazed by not starting Tour de France in yellow jersey

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar, a leading contender for the 2026 Tour de France, stated he is not disappointed about not beginning the race in the coveted yellow jersey. The garment was claimed by his main rival, Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, after the opening time trial in Barcelona.

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No, I am not disappointed about not having taken the yellow jersey. I am happy with the time trial, and even more so with having gotten through this day. You always aim for victory, but you can't always win. We did well. Isaac del Toro did an excellent job, he is a great teammate

Pogacar, riding for UAE, secured third place in the time trial, finishing 12 seconds behind Vingegaard. Despite not taking the initial lead, Pogacar also claimed the polka dot jersey for the best climber after marking the fastest time on the Montjuic ascent. He expressed satisfaction with his performance, noting the difficulty of the time trial and the strong effort from his teammate Isaac del Toro.

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it was a long time since we had done a team time trial

"No, I am not disappointed about not having taken the yellow jersey. I am happy with the time trial, and even more so with having gotten through this day. You always aim for victory, but you can't always win. We did well. Isaac del Toro did an excellent job, he is a great teammate," Pogacar said. He also predicted that the second stage, a route from Tarragona to Barcelona, would be "complicated and agitated."

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the second stage between Tarragona and Barcelona will be complicated and agitated