Tadej Pogacar felt ‘the pressure’ of rainbow jersey in stunning solo Giro dell’Emilia win – ‘Mission accomplished’

After winning the men’s road race last Sunday at the UCI Road World Championships, Tadej Pogacar had a new outfit to showcase in the Giro dell’Emilia. The Slovenian admitted he was “under pressure” given his world champion status, but a stunning solo attack with around 37km to go was pivotal in his first win of this Italian classic. Remco Evenepoel had predicted Pogacar would be “extra motivated”.

Tadej Pogacar said he felt the weight of being world champion after donning the rainbow jersey for the first time and winning the Giro dell’Emilia.
A super solo attack with 37km to go saw the UAE Team Emirates rider finish close to two minutes ahead of closest challenger Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).
The Slovenian won the men’s road race at last week’s UCI Road World Championships, holding off Australia’s Ben O’Connor and Mathieu van der Poel to win his first world title.

And having come home in second place in the last two editions of the one-day race in central Italy, Pogacar called it “mission accomplished”.
“I must say, mission accomplished and I’m super happy to do it in this jersey, the rainbow jersey,” said Pogacar.
“I must admit, I felt really good the first four days, until Thursday it was like nothing.

“Then I arrived here, I got all the kit, the jersey and I felt a little bit the pressure. The first race in the rainbow jersey, you need to prove again that you are the best and I tried.

Evenepoel himself pulled out with approximately 25km to go, having been pipped to the podium at the World Championships last Sunday and settling for fifth.
Before the Italian classic on Saturday, Evenepoel predicted that his rival would be “extra motivated” for the race, and so it proved.
“It’s always challenging here, but with Pogacar it’s also special racing,” said Evenepoel. “You never know what to expect, especially after last week. He hasn’t won here yet, so he’ll be extra motivated today.”