Rivals must gang up on Pogacar: Hinault
Five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault believes defending champion Tadej Pogacar will be difficult, but not impossible to beat.
Hinault won the Tour in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985, and told AFP in an interview in Dunkirk on Tuesday that Pogacar is a very strong favourite indeed.
Twenty kilometres of cobbles on Wednesday is the Tour's first real challenge, and the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France insists Pogacar will have no problems there despite his slender frame.
"It could be the start of the real Tour de France, quite simply because you can have falls, punctures, all kinds of race incidents meaning the Tour could be lost or won here," said the 67-year-old.
"So normally you'd have to be really vigilant even if it looks like there won't be any wind or rain," he said of stage five between Lille and Arenberg.
This stage features 11 sections of cobbles along the old mining roads used in the one-day classic Paris-Roubaix race known as "The Hell of the North".
"Pogacar has already shown he can deal perfectly well on cobbles after his performance on the Tour of Flanders, where he came fourth," Hinault explained of the nail-biting Belgian cobbled classic in April that Pogacar almost won.
"He's a guy who rolls well on the cobbles and is capable of pulling something off," he said of the Slovenian all-rounder who won the Tour in 2020 and 2021.
Known as 'the Badger' in his racing days due to his attacking attitude, Hinault suggested Ineos and Jumbo might do well to join forces to trap the two-time champion on his own and then mug him.
"If you want to beat Pogacar, you have to attack him and attack him in numbers. One rider attacking wouldn't be enough because he'd dominate that struggle," he insisted.
"So if you have a team with two or three riders in a team capable of attacking him, Pogacar's only solution would be to counter-attack and go on his own or give it up.
"Either Jumbo or Ineos could take Pogacar on, but only if they don't attack each other and only race against him."
-
Pragmocracy Now荥经至峨眉高速公路进入实质性启动阶段‘Qatar investing in Man Utd makes sense’Internal report finds Justice Department aided and abetted Trump’s child separation border policy.Deceased KAmy Coney Barrett and the "women can have it all" trap.President Moon's mediator role being threatened李伯伦:清远探索推进乡村运营“12345”行动The AI stock bubble has burst. Here's how we know.US expert agrees with South Korea's description of North Korean rockets as SRBMs
- ·We Bought the Cheapest DDR5 RAM Modules We Could Find, Are They Any Good?
- ·Best deals of the day Nov. 9: Instant Pot Duo, Roomba J7+, Apple TV HD, and more
- ·Trump positive: What happens if COVID forces Biden or Trump out of the race?
- ·'The White Lotus' isn't a whodunnit. So why are we watching it like one?
- ·'Hyundai Way': Auto giant's W121tr plan aims to seize mobility market lead
- ·US envoy calls on North Korea to halt hostility, return to talks
- ·It's 'wrong' to block separated families from being reunited: Moon
- ·Obamacare Supreme Court case: If conservatives take a 6–3 majority, the law may still survive.
- ·US Open 2024 livestream: How to watch US Open tennis for free
- ·Fake news tweets take off as Twitter blue checks go up for sale
- ·N.Korea fires ICBM ahead of S. Korea
- ·Starlink satellite internet speeds now almost rival broadband
- ·23 Peculiar Places of 2023
- ·US envoy calls on North Korea to halt hostility, return to talks
- ·Woods lauds LeBron longevity
- ·Trump positive: What happens if COVID forces Biden or Trump out of the race?
- ·2016's $400 GPU vs. 2019's $400 GPUs
- ·Henry Golding reads the first of Calm's Roald Dahl sleep stories
- ·Trump's feral Fox Business Network interview with Maria Bartiromo shows he's come undone.
- ·肺小结节不等同于肺癌
- ·9 Festive Holiday Treats and Where to Find Them
- ·Apple 2022 event: Mac Studio announced with powerful, new M1 Ultra chip
- ·Apple Event: Despite 'celebrating women,' Apple called out during peek performance event
- ·S. Korea looks to revive military pact with Japan upon thaw
- ·3D Game Rendering 101
- ·US envoy calls on North Korea to halt hostility, return to talks
- ·Best CPU Deals, AMD vs Intel: Holiday CPU Buying Guide
- ·Brazilian FA deny agreement with Ancelotti
- ·North Korea test
- ·S. Korea looks to revive military pact with Japan upon thaw
- ·The Astounding World of Automata
- ·AJK's week
- ·超前沿技术、最权威专家、400张入场券!2023水产种业高质量发展论坛,速来!
- ·Apple Event: New iPad Air revealed with M1 chip
- ·NASA rover snaps photo of its most daunting challenge yet
- ·Best deals of the day Nov. 2: Walmart+ memberships, MacBook Air, Bissell CrossWave, and more