Tadej Pogacar and Jan Polanc celebrate after claiming the gold and bronze medals respectively at the Slovenian National Time Trial Championships.

Gulf Today Report

Tadej Pogacar put in a storming ride on home soil to claim gold in the Slovenian National Time Trial Championships. Pogacar takes title while Polanc claims bronze.

The 21 year old put in a blistering time of 31:10:48 on the 15.6km course, 9 seconds clear of runner-up Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) who had claimed the road race title the previous week.

Jan Polanc put in a brave ride to claim the bronze medal and end a strong week of competition in Slovenia.

“After second place last week, coming back and taking the win felt really nice. It was a course I knew very well and we had trained a lot on it during the week.
Jan has showed his form is coming really good too. He worked hard last week for me in the road race and to get the bronze is really nice for the team also,” Pogacar said.

Earlier, as the 2020 calendar takes shape the Emirati team has announced the core riders to make-up the three Grand Tours. Each line-up has mixed goals with a good balance of climbers, sprinters and versatile stage-hunters.

The full squad listings are yet to be confirmed, but should become clear in the coming weeks. Fabio Aru (Ita), Pogacar, Davide Formolo (Ita), David De la Cruz (Esp), Alexander Kristoff (Nor) will lead UAE Team Emirates charge at the Tour de France.

Pogacar said: “I was thrilled to find out last week that I will be part of the team’s roster who will be heading to Nice in August and racing in the Tour de France.

“The Tour de France is the biggest and most well-known race in the world and the pinnacle of any rider’s career. I’m super excited to be in the team and can’t wait to test myself against the best riders in the world at one of the hardest Tours.

“We’re now just six weeks away from the start of the revised UCI 2020 race calendar and I am looking forward to getting back to competitive racing. Knowing that I will be racing in the Tour de France means I can finally train with a specific goal in mind.

“I am feeling fit and strong and I am happy with the team at the moment. We’ve got a good mix of attributes for our Grand Tour line ups – having that balance of climbers, sprinters and stage hunters,” he added. “It’s also great for the fans for racing to start again.