JUST IN: Mezgec explained why Pogačar withdrew from the Olympics: “If Urška had been…. READ MORE
Mezgec explained why Pogačar withdrew from the Olympics: “If Urška had been present, Tadej would have attended.”
According to Luka Mezgec, Tadej Pogačar’s withdrawal from the 2024 Olympics in Paris was caused exclusively by his partner Urška Žigart’s absence from the Slovenian women’s squad.
Even though Žigart won the Slovenian national road race championship by more than ten minutes, Eugenia Bujak and Urška Pintar were unexpectedly chosen for the Olympic team instead of Žigart.
Following the news, Pogačar posted on social media with the caption “no words,” while Žigart’s representative Alex Carera asserted that the Slovenian selectors had “damaged cycling.”
Not long after winning the Tour de France overall, Pogačar declared that he would not be participating in the Olympics in Paris, citing exhaustion.
During a post-Tour criterium in the Netherlands, Pogačar said that his choice had also been influenced by Žigart’s exclusion. It didn’t help, he admitted, but it wasn’t the primary cause.
Along with Matej Mohorič, Domen Novak, and Jan Tratnik, Mezgec will compete in the road race on Saturday. He expressed his belief that Pogačar’s withdrawal was solely due to Žigart’s exclusion.
“As for the official reason that he is tired, I believe it is not the most realistic,” Mezgec told RTV Slovenija.
“I know that even if he was as tired as he was on his deathbed, he would have come here if Urška were here, because he would not have been lying alone at home.”
The Jayco-Alula expressed his belief that Žigart was worthy of a place in Paris, but suggested that the Slovenian federation should have selected her for the Games in any case to ensure Pogačar’s participation.
“If Urška were present, the 1% chance that he would choose to stay at home for any reason would be significantly reduced. Tadej is wherever Urška is.
“Although Urška wasn’t the best, perhaps we should have risked one spot for her. It may sound harsh. That is the situation as it stands, but even in the unlikely event that she wasn’t, they failed to secure Tadej with this maneuver.
Regretfully, not every circumstance was anticipated by the decision-makers.”
