Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) is sooner or later away from sustaining his one-week stage race win streak, which extends again to Itzulia Basque Country in 2021, with simply the ultimate stage summit end at Jebel Hafeet mendacity between him and a 3rd UAE Tour title.
After safely surviving the final fast, hectic dash end on stage 6, Pogačar is seeking to win up the ten.8km ascent on the UAE-Oman border for the fourth time in his profession, including to triumphs in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
The world champion has solely misplaced at Jebel Hafeet as soon as, additionally in 2020 when his now-teammate Adam Yates received with by far and away the biggest-ever margin the climb has seen – 1:03 – in entrance of Pogačar in second. All three of the Slovenian’s wins there have been by lower than one second.
“I’ve actually nice reminiscences from Jebel Hafeet, I’ve received a variety of instances there,” Pogačar instructed reporters together with Cyclingnews after stage 6.
“One time I actually misplaced badly in opposition to Adam Yates, who’s now my teammate,” he stated with a smile. “But since then, I’ve at all times received there. I hope that tomorrow, I can ship the identical.”
Pogačar, in his typical type, wasn’t overly bullish about his probabilities, regardless of his standing because the heavy favorite, even suggesting that the day might be for his Australian teammate Jay Vine, who will begin stage 7 in fifth and solely 36 seconds off the lead.
“If not me, then perhaps Jay Vine can do it. For certain, we’ll go for it both means and let’s hope to create some extra good reminiscences tomorrow,” stated the Slovenian.
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“We will see [whether it is a sprint again] as a result of we’ve two playing cards to play tomorrow. Jay Vine is shut on GC, his climbing form can be tremendous good and he is tremendous robust so we’ll see. Let’s hope for good legs first.”
2025 is the fourth 12 months in succession that Jebel Hafeet will shut out the racing on the males’s UAE Tour, nonetheless, that does additionally imply that the specter of crosswinds opening up the racing and echelons forming will stay related proper till the foot of the climb.
After issues kicked off within the wind throughout final 12 months’s version, Pogačar has clearly reviewed the footage for himself and will not be taking any probabilities. Expect the black and white jerseys of UAE to be entrance and centre all through the 165km of racing that precedes the climb’s starting.
“I believe we noticed final 12 months already there have been some echelons going to the end. Tomorrow can be a windy day and it is not going to be simple from begin to end,” he stated.
“We must be concentrated from the beginning and I believe it will be an excellent onerous day.”
Despite the UAE Tour’s atypical format of getting the 2 key climbs to Jebel Jais and Jebel Hafeet spaced out by three flat dash phases, Pogačar has no worries about how his race rhythm shall be. After all, he did maintain the legs shard with 110km in yesterday’s breakaway.
“I imply it is not tough [for the climbing days to be so separated] but it surely’s not one thing that you simply’re used to – having a TT then a tough stage after which three dash phases,” stated Pogačar.
“But in one-week races, it does not matter a lot, I believe, as a result of it’s important to be good on daily basis. It’s simply one thing that you simply get used to from the UAE Tour because it’s kind of like this yearly and it does not trouble me.”
Pogačar will begin the ultimate day within the purple jersey with a 21-second lead over Ineos Grenadiers’ Josh Tarling. However, the time trial specialist will doubtless not be seeking to problem the Slovenian.
“It’s going to be an enormous day anyway however I’ve to coach for the Classics so I’m going to go backside to the highest [of the climb], Tarling instructed Cyclingnews earlier than stage 6.
“I’m not anticipating to be there, in any respect, however clearly I’m going to journey as onerous as I can. It’s slightly bit steep for me however I’ll journey with the idea and see how far I get.”
The subsequent closest rivals are GC hopefuls Iván Romeo (Movistar) on 27 seconds and his former teammate Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) on 28 seconds.
With a buffer already in place, Pogačar may go away issues to a dash and play it secure, nonetheless, that’s removed from his type, particularly after what he is proven this week.