“I told Brandon if he wanted to attack, go for it” – Tadej Pogacar
Tadej Pogacar resumed his racing calendar in Canada like last year, and has put on a performance just as expected. Only this time around the World Champion didn’t take a victory with ease, but instead helped his teammate Brandon McNulty to it.
Brandon McNulty and Tadej Pogacar comfortably crossed the finish line together in Montreal
This is how he explained how he let his American teammate win: “I saw he was really strong, the whole team was really strong today, we cut the peloton down quickly on the run because we put a great pace on the run, so I told Brandon if he wanted to attack, go for it. I caught him at the top of the climb and we tried it together. Then when I went solo he came up to me, then it was quick to know who was going to win.”
UAE had all the cards and it was only a matter of deciding how to play them. With a sequence of attacks, they were first able to drop the riders in the peloton and everyone but Quinn Simmons, but then they outplayed the American champion to have a one-two with a large advantage over the final lap. The victory was decided to be taken by McNulty.
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“He was kind enough to give me the win” – Tadej Pogacar key in Brandon McNulty’s Montreal victory
“He was kind enough to give me the win” – Tadej Pogacar key in Brandon McNulty’s Montreal victory
The UAE team has achieved its 85th victory so far this season, which makes them equal the 2009 HTC as the squad with the most wins in a single cycling year. Logically, with all that’s left of the year and seeing how they are, it’s not that they’re going to beat the record, they will certainly blow it out of the way with over a month of season left.
“It’s been a very successful season for the team, a lot of guys are getting opportunities, a lot of guys are winning. They’re taking their opportunities and showing how hard they work, almost everyone has a win on the team, everyone is working very hard for it,” Pogacar tells. “It’s a big deal, we’re proud to have so many wins this year.”
The Slovenian has also given the best possible signs towards the World Championships, in which he will be racing for in the coming two weeks in Kigali, Rwanda.