Pogačar looked little short of his best at the early season Italian stage race, building upon a recent stunning solo victory at Strade Bianche as he extended his Italian stay, winning Tirreno-Adriatico and also picking up a pair of stage victories to go with the overall triumph.
A sharp, uphill sprint to the line in Bellante on Stage 4 after a number of longer range attacks was impressive enough, but then the 23-year-old Slovenian exploded away from his rivals on Monte Carpegna, putting over a minute into his rivals for the general classification including Grand Tour podium finishers Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), and Australians Richie Porte (INEOS Grenadiers) and Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe).
He wrapped up the win after finishing safely on the final sprint stage in San Benedetto del Tronto, where he was asked how his current form was and how he maintained it.
"Things are going great, I can't complain," Pogačar said. "I like to race. We go to races to win and we try to win. The team works hard to get the win, so if I'm the leader, I really want to repay them for the work they do.
"Victories are always nice. I think everyone has the same mindset: to win."
The two-time Tour de France winner will be returning to the French Grand Tour again this year, but will take more of a classics-focused approach in the meantime, with Milan San Remo and Tour of Flanders on the agenda, both for the first time ever for Pogačar. He'll then line up at Liege-Bastogne-Liege as defending champion a year on from sprinting to the win from a select bunch of climbers.
"If I'm like this until Liège-Bastogne-Liège I'd be more than happy," Pogačar said of his current form and shape. "It's always hard to improve. I can maybe take off a kilogram, then we'll see if it's better or not."
Australians Porte and Hindley can reflect on Tirreno-Adriatico with optimism after displaying good form throughout the race, placing fourth and fifth overall in the race, with both set to compete at the Giro d'Italia.
SBS is the place to watch the classics, with coverage including the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, , two of Pogačar's big targets. Then the Giro d'Italia will be LIVE and FREE on SBS, as Richie Porte and Jai Hindley go for pink in the struggle to win the famous maglia rosa.
