Alberto Contador picks Tadej Pogacar as his 2021 Tour de France winner
Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador Velasco is expecting Tadej Pogacar to win the 2021 edition of the cycling event. With the highly-anticipated cycling event just a day away, most predictions for the winners have revolved around the Slovenian duo of Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic.
Both cyclists have been dominating cycling in the last few years with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) winning the previous edition of the race.
Also Read: 2021 Tour de France: Pogacar v Roglic - who will win the Slovenian battle in France?
The 22-year-old's dominant performances in 2020 excited former winner Alberto Contador. The Slovenian's quality of never giving up served him well. He overcame Roglic's huge lead in the latter stages to win by a margin of one minute. The ability to turn around the fortunes of the race makes him Alberto Contador's favorite to win the 2021 Tour de France.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Alberto Contador said:
"Pogacar is one of the main favourites. And I think the other teams see that this year Pogacar comes with a very compact block and they know that it will not be easy. As in each of the last races, we see INEOS and Jumbo among the most favoured teams but I think this year UAE comes with strength and with Pogacar at the head."
Alberto Contador, who will be a panelist for Tour de France broadcaster Eurosport, feels the 22-year-old Slovenian has the potential to dominate cycling events in future years.
"Pogacar has incredible quality and I think he will be one of the great figures of the next few years in this sport. He shows in every race he takes part that he has an extraordinary potential and that he is a modern cyclist with almost no fissures, which makes it very difficult for the rest of the rivals to confront him directly and not suffer in the attempt," said Contador.
Most pundits have suggested that the Tour de France will once again be a battle between Pogacar and Roglic in 2021. Roglic was the clear favorite to win last year after wearing the yellow jersey for almost 11 days.
His team, Jumbo-Visma, have also been doing well and will come better prepared to block the UAE team from taking early leads this time around. Team INEOS' trio of Geraint Thomas, Richard Carapaz and Tao Geoghegan Hart may also spring a surprise in the battle between the Slovenians.
Alberto Contador dismisses COVID-19 impact
Alberto Contador isn't expecting the riders to be underprepared for the 2021 Tour de France despite a COVID-19 affected schedule.
"I don't think there is a big difference in this year's edition. In 2020, of course, it had its influence, starting with the race at another time of the year. But this year I do not think that COVID influences much beyond the fact that a cyclist is vaccinated," he said.
You can watch all the 2021 our de France stages on Eurosport and Eurosport HD from June 26 - July 18. With the race just a day away, who is your money on? Let us know in the comments!
Also Read: 2021 Tour de France Preview: Analyzing the impact of the Pogaćar-Roglič rivalry on the race