The question that has swirled around the final days of this Tour de France has been 'Is Tadej Pogačar tired?'. It's not a state we are particularly used to seeing the imperious Slovenian in, even at the end of intense races, but in the last week in France, he has appeared fatigued.
Usually a voracious winner, Pogačar hasn't won a stage in this final week, after looking off his top level on Mont Ventoux, and then sitting back defensively on the stages to the Col de la Loze and La Plagne, looking obviously tired on stage 19 in particular.
Of course, whether he's more tired than usual or not doesn't actually matter; he is still leading the race by four and a half minutes, but it does speak to how hard this Tour de France has been, and how hard he has had to work for his fourth title.
Speaking on the eve of stage 21, Pogačar wouldn't rise to the suggestion that he is tired or off the pace in any way, but was honest about how hard the last three weeks have been.
"Every year we say 'It's the hardest Tour ever', the hardest thing we've ever done, it's all so crazy, but honestly, I know that this year was something on another level," he said.
"There was maybe one day that we went a bit easier, if you look at the power files throughout the whole Tour. It's been really amazing and really tough. Even today, we almost did all-out from start to finish."
He also had to go up against his long-term rival and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who, although he isn't taking the win this year, has been strong all race – far above the rest of the competition – even if Pogačar was ultimately a step further above.
Despite the challenge and not matching or beating his six-stage haul from 2024, Pogačar had no complaints about really having to fight for title number four.
"I must say that even though it was one of the toughest ones I ever did, I enjoyed it, because I had good shape and good legs, and I'm really looking forward for the last day tomorrow," he said.
Sunday won't be the traditionally 'easy' day that it often is, with the inclusion of the Montmartre stage making the Paris finale much punchier than the classic Champs-Élysées route, and Pogačar obliged to do his winner's press conference on Sunday evening, rather than the traditional Saturday evening.
His full debrief to the press is still to come, then, but questions were already being asked after stage 20 about his next ambitions, which may or may not include the Vuelta a España, though Pogačar confirmed a decision is still yet to be made. The Vuelta starts in four weeks.
"I said on, I don't know which day, that we will decide a couple of days after the Tour when everything is calm and heads are clear, then we make decisions for the next races," Pogačar reiterated.
"It's going to be tough to decide. Of course, I would like to go to the Vuelta. Every year I do the Tour and I would like to do the Vuelta one day also, so we will see."
First, though, after a draining three weeks around France, Pogačar is, like any 26-year-old, just looking forward to some summer relaxation – though not a long break off the bike.
"Monday I travel, Tuesday maybe I'm on the bike, you never know," he answered when asked when he might reach for his bike again after the Tour. "If I feel good, I go a bit riding, stop for coffee, and enjoy summer at home."
The Rozman question
The other topic that has been circulating in the cycling world during this last week has been about Ineos Grenadiers head carer David Rozman, after alleged connections were revealed between him and convicted doping doctor Mark Schmidt, four years after the Operation Aderlass court trial, in the media.
Reports first aired in a documentary by ARD, before the Slovenian was named in subsequent stories by the Irish Independent and Sunday Times as having sent text messages to Schmidt.
This week, the British team confirmed that, amid the media allegations, the International Testing Agency (ITA) have opened a fresh investigation focused on him, and that Rozman had left the Tour.
Rozman is Slovenian, like Pogačar, but 16 years older than the yellow jersey, so they never raced together in Slovenia, nor have they ever worked together or been linked through anything other than nationality.
However, that was enough for a journalist to ask Pogačar for comment on the current case relating to his compatriot.
He did not seem to say that he didn't know Rozman at all, but it was clear that he knew little about the current investigations or allegations.
"I don't know anything about this case," Pogačar said. "I heard what was going on in the last few days with the situation. It's not nice to hear what is going on. But I don't know him so well, he was in Sky and Ineos for quite a long time, but I don't know much about the situation, so I can't say much."
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