The cyclist Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates), who won the Tour de France for the third time on Sunday, will miss the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, for which he was selected, due to “fatigue,” the Slovenian Olympic Committee announced on Monday.
In a statement, the organization reported the withdrawal of the “star” of world cycling, during a season in which he won the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, among other races, leaving Slovenia without its top competitors.
“Unfortunately, Tadej has withdrawn from the Games due to extreme fatigue,” stated the Olympic coach, Uros Murn, as quoted in the statement.
According to the same source, national road race champion Domen Novak, his teammate at UAE Emirates, will take the place of the cyclist who won the bronze medal in the road race at Tokyo 2020.
This way, Slovenia is deprived of both medalists from the last edition of the Games, as the Olympic time trial champion, Primoz Roglic, declined the invitation.
At just 25 years old, Pogacar is already one of the greatest cyclists of all time, with three victories in the Tour, numerous classics, six of which are “Monuments,” one in the Giro, and an almost unparalleled record of successes.
On Sunday, “Pogi” joined Belgian Philippe Thys (winner in 1913, 1914, 1920), Frenchman Louison Bobet (1953, 1954, 1955), and American Greg LeMond (1986, 1989, 1990) on the list of three-time Tour champions and is now two wins away from matching the record holders Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain.
The Slovenian, who wore the yellow jersey uninterruptedly since the fourth stage, after already wearing it following the second stage, also achieved the “double” Giro-Tour, becoming the eighth cyclist in history, and the first since Italian Marco Pantani in 1998, to do so.
Previously, this feat was only accomplished by Fausto Coppi (1949 and 1952), Jacques Anquetil (1964), Eddy Merckx (1970, 1972 and 1974), Bernard Hinault (1982 and 1985), Stephen Roche (1987), Miguel Indurain (1992 and 1993), and Pantani.