Tadej Pogacar column: I am living a dream but Tour de France success must also go to UAE Team Emirates

Tour's history-making champion provides insight into the remarkable penultimate stage and why he is loving life at the team

UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia, is seen wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Deceuninck-Quick Step rider Sam Bennett of Ireland, wearing the green jersey, before the official start. REUTERS

Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (L) of UAE-Team Emirates wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey and Irish rider Sam Bennett (R) of Deceuninck Quick-Step team wearing the best sprinter green jersey greet each other before the start of the 21th stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 122 km from Mantes la Jolie to Paris, France. EPA

Slovenia's Primoz Roglic, left, who lost his overall leader's yellow jersey to Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, right, gets a hug during the twenty-first and last stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 122 kilometers (75.8 miles), from Mantes-La-Jolie to Paris, France. AP Photo

Italy's Elia Viviani wears a face mask reading "No To Racism" as he arrives for the start of the twenty-first and last stage of the Tour de France cycling race. AP Photo

Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates, bearer of the Yellow T-shirt waves from the podium before the start of the 21st and last stage of the Tour de France 2020 cycling race over 122km from Mantes-La-Jolie to Paris, France. EPA

Team UAE Emirates rider Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey attends the start of the 21st and last stage of the 107th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 122 km between Mantes-la-Jolie and Champs Elysees Paris. AFP

Team UAE Emirates rider Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey (3rd-L) and Team UAE Emirates riders ride during the 21st and last stage of the 107th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 122 km between Mantes-la-Jolie and Champs Elysees Paris. AFP

Team Jumbo rider Slovenia's Primoz Roglic waits prior to the 21st and last stage of the 107th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 122 km between Mantes-la-Jolie and Champs Elysees Paris. AFP

Spectators watch the peloton passing by during the 21st stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 122 km from Mantes la Jolie to Paris, France. EPA

Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (2-nd L) of the UAE Team Emirates, flanked by teammates, wears the overall leader's yellow jersey as waiting for the start of the 21st and last stage of the Tour de France 2020 cycling race over 122km from Mantes-La-Jolie to Paris, France. EPA

To be here wearing the yellow jersey of the Tour de France still hasn't sunk in yet. I'm speechless. I am very proud of this jersey that repays all the efforts made by the team up to this last phenomenal push to put me in yellow. I dreamed of winning this Tour since I was a boy and now it has come true.

I must say that the credit is not only mine, but of all the members of UAE Team Emirates and the sponsors who support us. The preparation this year was all focused on the Tour. It was a long period to prepare and it was well planned by my team - with the training camps, the training schedule during the lockdown, keeping the right mindset.

I came into this Tour in good shape. Unfortunately we lost a couple of teammates along the way, but we didn’t give up, we stayed positive.

The three weeks were just fantastic. Every day we had a great atmosphere and good attitude in the team, and it was a really amazing time. I tried to keep the mind relaxed and go with the flow stage by stage. We kept a good atmosphere on the bus before and after the stages. They kept my mind really focused and not stressed throughout the three weeks, that was really important.

It was quite a different time trial. If someone told me I would be in the position where I was at that day before the Tour, I would never have believed them. We had come here to the Time Trial for a reconnaissance, so I knew what we were going to do and I knew where to accelerate and where to manage the effort: I only had to think about pushing hard from start to finish. During the time trial I felt that I was going strong and this spurred me even more.

I thought beforehand that if I had a good day then probably, I would be close to [race leader Primoz] Roglic. He didn’t have the best day, so I was able to make up the time. I didn’t know that I had won the jersey until after he had crossed the line. I have a lot of respect for him as a rival and a friend. I know he’s disappointed at the moment but I’m sure we will have many great battles in the future.

I still can't believe that I am the youngest Tour de France winner since 1904 and its first from Slovenia. I had some good years with UAE Team Emirates where I won Tour de l'Avenir in 2018 and capped by three stages victories and a podium at Vuelta a Espana last year.

I feel happy at the moment with my team. Since I arrived at UAE Team Emirates, I felt part of the family. I have many friends in the team and there has always been a good atmosphere with the riders and the staff. That's also one of the main reasons why I recently renewed my contract with the team until 2024. UAE Team Emirates is a long-term project with some strong sponsors, and I am proud to be part of it.

I want to stay the same: humble, training hard, going to races with the same mindset and keeping up the good work that my team is doing. I need to thank my family, my girlfriend and all our fans in the UAE for supporting me every step of the way. My dream as a cyclist was to participate in the Tour de France, winning it definitely goes further.