The record currently stands at 5 Tour de France titles. Four Champions share that distinction among themselves. Well, in the next few days, Tadej Pogacar has the chance to make it 4 wins at the historic event. After the Queen stage, the Slovenian has a 4 minute 26 seconds lead over his nearest challenger, Jonas Vingegaard.
The defending champion has gotten past the difficult stretch that derailed his race in 2023. Now, it’s all about getting the remaining stages done with robotic efficiency. And that’s exactly how Pogacar wants it to go. Because even though he wants to win the crown on July 27, the 26-year-old is actually desperate for it to be over.
Yep, the revelations came from the UAE Team leader himself. Fellow cyclist, Lukas Ronald Lukacs, shared an update on X on July 25, where he shared the part that has taken the cycling world by surprise. “Tadej Pogačar: “I can’t wait for the Tour de France to be over so I can get back to normal life.” Any fan following his 2025 race would be left wondering how it came to this.
Tadej Pogačar: “I can’t wait for the Tour de France to be over so I can get back to normal life.”
“I often ask myself why I’m still here, it’s so long these three weeks. You count the kilometres to Paris and yes, I can’t wait for it to be over so I can do some other nice stuff… pic.twitter.com/gH9LCzYR1o
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) July 25, 2025
And the tweet contained more of Pogacar’s excerpts. “I often ask myself why I’m still here, it’s so long these three weeks.” The 2200 miles race may not be the longest in the world, but it’s definitely the hardest. And it’s also the most prestigious, which makes it more competitive, more challenging, and more stressful, no doubt.
Pogacar’s exhaustion after the 171.5 km stage 18 from Vif to Courchevel Col de la Loze was clearly evident from his remarks. He expressed how the fans do help him through the third week. But who knew he was not exactly enjoying it? “It’s still nice to ride there, even in the third week when you’re tired and annoyed by everybody around you, more or less, but yeah, you just want to go home.”
Well, being a champion comes with its own challenges. And the extra media engagements, the limelight may be burning out the cyclist. But as per Lukas Ronald Lukacs, who shared the tweet, maybe it’s a strategy for Tadej Pogacar to conserve the energy for the crucial stages of the Tour de France. Not to mention, Pogacar also has the big Vuelta a Espana, the Il Lombardia, and the 2025 UCI Road World Championships coming up. Maybe the Slovenian has his focus on them this time.
And the fact that he is a three-time winner at the Tour de France may have put him under win fatigue. But he ain’t relenting, though. He wants to retain the yellow jersey and add to his long list of accolades.
Tadej Pogacar rides a professional stage and ready to push
In the same communications, the defending Champion shared his end goal while talking about the pressure from Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease a Bike team in the Queen stage. “I wanted the win, but [defending] the yellow jersey is a priority.” The Visma-Lease team tried to isolate Pogacar and made the first move on the Madeleine.
Credits – Instagram @tadejpogacar
Eventually, it was Vingegaard who tried to push his rival and cut down the race-time. But Tadej Pogacar, like a technician, ended up getting an 11-second advantage after a late surge at the summit. The stage was won by Ben O’Connor, registering his 2nd-ever Stage crown. As for the Yellow jersey holder, there is indeed something to go for with the last 2 days remaining.
He wanted to win the last mountainous stage on Friday, which ends with a 19-kilometer ascent to La Plagne. But he would still be happy enough that Vingegaard trailed right behind him. And it was Thymen Arensman who clinched the victory, with the Dutchman adding to his stage 14 win.
Two more stages to go before it all ends at the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Tadej Pogacar is not getting carried away, although he can smell the victory at one of the most coveted races in the world, where you can expect all kinds of surprises.
The post At 26, Tadej Pogacar Makes Surprising Confession On Tour De France: “Can’t Wait For It To Be Over” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
