After ushering teammate Isaac del Toro to his debut Tour de France stage victory in Barcelona on Sunday, defending overall champion Tadej Pogačar celebrated almost more enthusiastically than if he had won the stage himself.
After he and Del Toro crossed the finish line together for a UAE Team Emirates-XRG 1-2, Pogačar lifted the Mexican into the air and later celebrated with Mexican fans and UAE Team Emirates staff as he warmed down at the team bus.
"He is a champion, a great man, a great friend. He deserves the victory, I have no words," Pogačar said of Del Toro at the finish line.
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Pogačar decided to help his young teammate win his first-ever stage of the Tour de France after his UAE teammates controlled the race. The USA's Brandon McNulty did a huge turn on the front of the select group on the hilly circuits around Montjuïc.
Since Pogačar finished second on the stage and breakaway rider Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural) took the polka dot jersey, he was free of any podium duties and rode back to the team bus as Del Toro celebrated on the stage winner's podium.
Pogačar jumped into an ice bath for a few minutes and then warmed down on the rollers. Dozens of Mexican fans began to chant 'Pogi, hermano, Tadej es Mexicano- Pogi, brother, Tadej is Mexican.'
Pogačar embraced the Mexican support. He grabbed a huge Mexican flag and celebrated with the fans and everyone at UAE.
"Tadej is not just a champion, he's a leader," UAE sports manager Joxean Fernández Matxin told a small group of media, including Cyclingnews.
"It's about the concept we have about the team, about being a family. We've created a special team where all the teammates help each other.
"Brandon McNulty was the MVP for me for the work he did today. He pulled for every kilometre of the technical circuit. Then Tadej and Isaac made the difference at the finish. I'm super proud of all of these guys, of this as a family. We showed we're a team. This is a Tadej Pogačar masterpiece."
UAE Team Emirates were ready for multiple scenarios for the three laps of the Montjuïc circuit. Many expected Pogačar to dynamite the stage on the final laps to try to take back time on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) after giving up 12 seconds in the stage 1 team time trial.
Perhaps keen to leave the Dane with the responsibilities of the yellow jersey, Pogačar waited for the final climb to the line before accelerating to drag Del Toro clear and then controlled the gap to secure victory for his teammate and take a six-second time bonus for himself.
Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) finished third to take four bonus seconds, with Vingegaard fourth, in the same time. Vingegaard now leads Pogačar by just six seconds as the Tour heads into the medium mountain Pyrenees for a finish in Les Angles.
"We didn't speak a lot via radio, I just told them that they need to speak to each other," sports director Andrej Hauptman revealed.
"For sure, this is big for Mexico, but even for us. It's really nice to see how great champion Tadej is. You just can see it in the final 200 metres, he just calculated and controlled the sprint. It's a big day for everyone in the team."
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