Tadej Pogačar came within just seven seconds of starting the 2022 Tour de France on Saturday in the same way the UAE Team Emirates rider had completed the 2021 race, as he claimed a morale-boosting third place in the opening time trial.
Pogačar might have ended up having to settle for the white jersey of best young rider rather than yellow on Friday, but his first pedal strokes in the 2022 Tour left no doubt as to his form this July.
Like all the top names racing a city centre course rendered dangerous by the pouring rain and with several notably technical sections, Pogačar rolled down the Copenhagen start ramp very early on the day.
Even if Yves Lampaert (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) managed to outpace the Slovenian in the 13.2km effort, Pogačar's third place has left him in pole position among the GC contenders and cemented his status as odds-on favourite for a third straight Tour victory.
The eight-second advantage on Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and nine-second gain on Primoz Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) are more symbolic than of long-term meaning. But in a short opening Tour time trial, the psychological blows are almost always more important than the real ones, and in that context the UAE Team Emirates rider certainly landed a telling blow on Friday.
For one thing, it is not every day that even a racer as versatile as Pogacar can finish ahead of a world time trial champion of the calibre of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers). And an 18-second advantage of Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) is not to be sneezed at on such a short course, particularly with the rest of the favourites even further afield. Enric Mas (Movistar), for instance, is already trailing by nearly a minute after barely a quarter of an hour's racing.
"It has been a really good day. I enjoyed the course despite the rain. I clocked a very good time and I am in a great position in the GC to go into the first week," Pogačar said afterwards.
While perhaps more fortunate than some early starters as the rain stopped while he was out on the course, Pogačar said his strategy remained the same.
"I went full gas from the start to the finish. The rain made the time trial a bit stressful, as these slippery conditions never help. Anyway, on the first corners I saw the conditions were not so bad, and from then on I took it corner by corner. I felt confident, without taking too many risks."
Now clad in the white jersey of best young rider, the first Tour de France classification jersey he wore back in his debut in 2020, Pogačar's performance means an excellent first part of the season has continued at least until day one of the Tour.
"This has been the first test of the Tour de France, not super long but still demanding. I find I have good legs,” he said.
However, as ever in the Tour, no sooner is one challenge over than another looms. Regarding the potentially echelon-crammed stage 2, Pogačar warned: "Tomorrow will be a stressful stage. You never know what is going to happen. I have a good team to support me and we will have to be very careful as it’s sure it will be a hard day."
His words were echoed by UAE Team Emirates sports director Joxean Fernández Matxin, who recognised that on a day where the technical course and rain rendered all the GC candidates vulnerable, Pogačar had turned up trumps again.
"To finish in front of a specialist like Ganna is always great, and it's been a very good day, just two seconds behind the fastest," Matxin observed.
"Tadej is always good in the rain, and a technical course suited him. But let's not forget the race is 20 days long, and we've only just begun."
