«You see Pogacar as the champion, the leader of the Giro. But I fell in love with Tadej.” To climb back up to the slopes of the 11-stage champion in the pink jersey, we rely on the gentle current of Urska Zigart, the Slovenian cyclist who shares her life with the best, the blonde lady to whom Pogi dedicates stages and victories, the first person he will kiss when the time trial arrives in Desenzano tomorrow, seeing him again after two weeks.
Urska, 27 years old, chronowoman of Team Jayco e next star of the women’s Girowitty (“I define myself as a very slow law student and a slightly faster cyclist”) and helpful, Mister Ciclismo tells us.
In Monte Carlo, at the Pogacar-Zigart home, do the races stay outside the door?
“It’s difficult. We both run, we often go out on bikes together: cycling is a big part of our days. Let’s say that I avoid certain questions for Tadej, like: why did you launch the sprint so early? We understand each other: we know what to say to each other and what not to say.”
Speaking of sprints, Urska: Pogacar who sprinted past Molano in Naples caused discussion.
«He told me the night before: if there’s space, I’ll try. Of course it was dangerous, of course the pink jersey of the Giro would be better off not taking risks. But this is Tadej Pogacar, it’s impossible to harness him: what he promises, he keeps. Leave no stone unturned to win or throw a teammate, it’s in his blood. If he has good legs, he will always try.”
The generation of phenomena (Pogacar but also Evenepoel, Van der Poel, Van Aert, Vingegaard) is pushing cycling to the limit, accidents are multiplying. She is worried?
«We do a risky job, there’s no point in denying it. Training is too. The consolation is that, with Tadej’s talent, the risk is minimized. If I risk at 60 an hour, he risks at 80 an hour. I trust him: at Sanremo, for example, he saw that he couldn’t follow Mohoric and held back. If I were worried I wouldn’t live anymore. You can get hit even outside your front door.”
Do you believe in destiny?
“Yes. But if you push the limits, you also push destiny. We have to be careful.”
Was it love at first sight with Pogacar?
«No, far from it. I met him at a training camp in Istria in 2017, we ran for the same team from Ljubljana. I had a boyfriend at the time, and he was almost two years younger. He already had an impressive talent. He introduced himself: hi, I’m Tadej.”
What did you like about that enterprising boy?
«His values, his way of being. He takes life with spontaneity, maintaining a good balance between duty and pleasure. He always knows what he wants. And he remained humble, despite his successes.”
Tell us something behind the scenes of Pogacar that we don’t know.
«At home I cook, but recently it has improved a lot. She puts on her apron and announces: Urska I got a wonderful piece of bacon from the Team Uae chef, I’ll take care of it today. With the pan he likes to make the sound of love (i.e. the flick of the wrist to turn the dough without the spoon), she saw it on Instagram and liked it. If he messes up the whole kitchen, he has learned to clean. When he wants to surprise me he cooks carbonara.”
What makes him laugh and what makes him cry?
«Tadej doesn’t often show emotions, he is an incurable optimist. I saw him cry over the death of my mother, who passed away two years ago, to whom he dedicated his triumph at the last Liège. More often it happens that he cries from laughter: over silly things, when we exchange funny videos, over a joke or a joke. He’s a shy guy who, along the way, is opening up more and more.”
Where do you keep cups, trophies and grand tour jerseys?
(He looks around, he’s in Monte Carlo) «Keeping everything at home would be impossible. Here we have the two Tour de France trophies and the yellow jersey, hanging in the closet. Everything else is in Slovenia with Tadej’s parents.”
How do you see yourself in ten years, Urska?
«With the minimum wage, the facilities and the World Tour teams, women’s cycling has made great strides but I certainly don’t see myself racing for that long. I did two years of law school, I would like to finish. Life always has a way of messing up plans for the future but if I could choose I would like Tadej and I to be as happy as we are today in ten years, I would like children to raise in Monte Carlo, where three languages are spoken already in kindergarten. But the idea, one day, is to return to Slovenia. And continue to go out cycling together, just for the pleasure of it.”
