From 'Bodyguard', Pogacar gets an Olympic rival
At the Tour de France, Nils Politt is responsible for allowing Tadej Pogacar to celebrate his dominant win. The German receives excessive praise. After the drama before the Olympics - and there, they will be rivals.
After three weeks of brutal drama, Tadej Pogacar and Nils Politt enjoyed a joint party in the legendary nightlife of Nice. Until Monday morning, Politt and the rest of the UAE team rejoiced in Pogacar's third Tour victory, then their paths separated. But not for long: At the Olympics in Paris, they will be rivals. "It was tough, but beautiful Tour weeks. We worked great as a team," Politt said, "but now I'm really looking forward to the Olympics, that will finally be my first games."
The 30-year-old Cologne native brought immense euphoria from Nice to Paris. There, he embraced the champion Pogacar immediately after his goal finish on Sunday and carried him on his broad shoulders in the jubilant crowd, just as he had during the three-week Tour.
"It's motivating to have such a leader in our ranks," Politt said. So the 1.92-meter chicken transformed into a climber at the Tour, scrambled up the mountain giants like Tourmalet and Bonette as a pace-setter at the front of the peloton, causing specialists like Austrian former champion Felix Gall to drop behind.
"Huge job well done"
"Nils did a huge job, got better every day," Pogacar marveled. Despite finishing in 75th place overall with a four-hour deficit: Who cares, he didn't ride for himself. In the Olympic road race on August 3 (Max Schachmann is the only German participating in the time trial), Politt will have complete freedom.
"If I stay healthy and take deep breaths, then the form will also be good. In two weeks, you can recover well," Politt said. The selective course in the Parisian hinterland should suit the Classics specialist well. Politt, however, does not count himself among the medal favorites.
But Pogacar, who could make history in Paris. Only Jan Ullrich won the Tour de France (1997) and the Olympic road race (2000) in the same year, and no one has achieved this feat since. The Brit Bradley Wiggins managed the double of Tour victory and Olympic time trial gold in 2012 - Pogacar, however, is not a favorite for the time trial.
Frustration over Pogacar's girlfriend
But will Pogacar even show up in Paris? On the one hand, he harbors a grudge against the Slovenian sports leadership because his girlfriend Urska Zigart was not selected as a double national champion for the Games. On the other hand, he reacted evasively on Sunday evening regarding related inquiries. "I'm very tired and don't want to talk about the Olympics right now," the 25-year-old said, "I'll deal with it later." Nevertheless, the relentless exception rider pondered what he intended to win in the near future: The World Championships in September, Paris-Roubaix, Vuelta. In short: everything that's still left to win.
And since the Olympics are part of that, this should not be surprising if he then stands grinning at the starting line on August 3. As a competitor of Politt.
Tadej Pogacar and Nils Politt's rivalry is set to continue at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, following their collaboration in the Tour de France. Pogacar has the opportunity to make history by winning both the Tour de France and the Olympic road race in Paris, a feat only achieved once before by Jan Ullrich.
