• Classification: This is the general of the Tour
  • Nairo Quintana, becomes leader in Andorra after a Dantesque stage
  • Tour: All stages of the Tour of Spain 2019
  • Marc Soler. And his tremendous anger at having to stop to help Nairo Quintana

«Pogacar is not a bet, but a certainty. He is a champion » . Even before he debuted on the World Tour, his director, Joxean Fernández Matxin , talked like that about the 20-year-old boy who astonished yesterday with his victory at La Vuelta. He did not succeed because of the negligence of the best, but because none could keep up with the pace he imposed on Cortals d'Encamp, confirming the enormous progression exhibited during his debut season in professional cycling.

The Slovenian UAE rider was discovered by Matxin, a Spanish cycling classic who has been the sporting director of Mapei, the Vini Caldirola, the Saunier Duval, the Fuji, the Lampre ... But if Vizcaino coach is known for anything, it is because your clinical eye to detect early talents. As a clearer and more recent example - Pogacar on the sidelines - it was Matxin who recommended the Deceuninck to sign a boy named Remco Evenepoel after seeing him compete in a race in the Basque Country.

A Pogacar looked at him when the boy was still in the youth category and the Basque coach worked for the now Deceuninck as a scout. When he was about to tie him to the Belgian side, the UAE bills appeared to convince him. Casualties of life, the Emirati team signed Matxin shortly after as director and was able to meet the boy again .

His debut season in the World Tour already presaged that Pogacar was going to be able to do great things in this Tour. In February he won the Tour of the Algarve ahead of Poels and Mas , and in May that of California, where Bennett and Porte were also . Between one victory and another, he was sixth in the much more demanding Tour of the Basque Country , being ahead of Landa, Konrad, Mas ... A real mockery for a boy of just 20 years.

This Tour came without excessive pressure, being part of a team that bet on Fabio Aru for the general and Fernando Gaviria for mass arrivals. Neither of them has responded to expectations, partly because of the hard fall they suffered in the initial team time trial, and Pogacar has emerged as great hope. In addition to his epic triumph in Andorra, he is now fifth overall, behind the fantastic four, at 1:42 from Quintana . Right now, it is the only realistic alternative to all of them. The podium is not impossible for Slovenian, at the expense of how his body responds to the requirement of three weeks of competition, a reality he has not yet faced.

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