“The team was on point today,” Pogačar said during the post-race press conference. “We did things exactly how we planned. We made it hard in the final laps and then they set me up for an attack with two laps to go so it was perfect.”
Despite the victory, Pogačar has little time for celebrations with the World Championships in Zurich looming. “I fly today through the night back to Europe so there’s not much time to celebrate this victory,” he explained. “I mean, for sure we will celebrate a little bit. But in two weeks is the World Championships as well, so you need to focus and be ready for that.”
Pogačar feels confident and motivated after his performance, and despite a seventh-place finish in Québec, he was thrilled with the comeback in Montréal. “Today gave me a lot of confidence and motivation,” he said. “I was disappointed because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh in Québec. Just to bounce back after seventh place to victory here, is just an incredible feeling. It’s super good.”
The event saw a vibrant crowd in Parc du Mont-Royal, with Pogačar engaging with fans, including a high-five with Michael Matthews, his close friend and the winner at GP Québec. “The last one kilometre of the circuit was incredible,” he recounted. “There were so many people on the climb all the way to the top. I’m super happy to come and race in this kind of atmosphere here in Canada.”
Looking ahead, Pogačar is cautiously optimistic about the World Championships. “The chance is always there, it’s always been there,” he stated. “I had the chance last year and took third place on a parcours that didn’t suit me the most. But this year it is much better so the chances for me are bigger. But World Championships are World Championships, if not everything goes to perfection, it’s hard to win.”
