Will Pavel Sivakov (UAE-Emirates) conclude his team’s extraordinary season by winning the final race of the season, the Tour of Guangxi? If he maintains the form he had on Saturday during the Tour of Lombardy, the Frenchman has reason to believe in it. Sixth in the last Monument of the season, Sivakov participated in Tadej Pogacar’s new show. In an interview given last Friday to Eurosport, he talks about his leader, his newfound pleasure and the mental difficulties he has already encountered in his career.
Pavel, after a complicated end to your adventure, you give the impression of having regained great confidence at UAE-Emirates…
Pavel Sivakov : No, I wouldn’t say it was complicated, I left on very good terms with INEOS. But it’s certain that I’m flourishing a little more this season. I feel like I’m progressing. I really enjoy myself on the bike. I’m thriving a lot and I’m super happy with this season. I feel like the team trusts me too.
After the counter, the final blow? Pogacar leaves alone with Sivakov
So there is no regret after joining UAE…
P.S. : No, I really don’t regret it. I have opportunities in certain races but it is better to be teammates with riders like (Tadej) Pogacar than to fight against them. Ultimately, it creates a lot of opportunities. We can take the example of Sepp Kuss who won a Vuelta. If he hadn’t been a teammate of his leaders, I don’t think he would have won the race. In a team with a very high level, it’s always difficult to find your place but when you manage to create opportunities, it’s always easier.
The observation you make is that there are runners who are too far above the rest to face them and that it is better to be with them, is that right?
P.S. : We’re not going to hide it, they are on top today. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have personal ambition, that I don’t want to progress personally, but yes, it’s an observation. I think a lot of runners are thinking the same thing as me.
Are you happy with how you have seized the few opportunities you have had as a leader?
P.S. : I was a teammate in the races I ran with Tadej (Catalonia, Tour de France, and Lombardy). We think that I was most often a teammate, because these are the races with the most exposure like the Grande Boucle. I had opportunities, in the Vuelta for example. I am more or less happy with my season. There is a small disappointment, it is the Dauphiné. I got sick, I didn’t really do the race I wanted. On the Vuelta, I have no regrets. I really tried a lot. It didn’t always pay off, but I tried.
At a certain point, I didn’t like cycling anymore, it was stressful to go running
Your Vuelta ended with a 9th place, exactly the same as in the 2019 Giro. We then labeled you a talent to follow with a leadership role in a great team to come. How do you explain your difficulties in confirming?
P.S. : I think I put a lot of pressure on myself, personally. Maybe I wasn’t mentally prepared to perform as well all the time. I had a very good result, I had a very good 2019 season. Then, it was complicated for me, more mentally than physically. I have always struggled, always had little physical glitches. This is what meant that I was not able to express myself to 100% of my abilities. I feel like things are coming back really well. I’m more of someone who will mature later.
It is sometimes difficult to estimate from the outside how doubt sets in in a runner. How did you perceive it?
P.S. : We all have ups and downs. In sport, confidence is truly an essential factor. I have also worked a lot this last year on my mind to think more positively. Previously, I focused more on the negative. I stressed more about things I shouldn’t think about. At a certain point, I no longer liked cycling, it was stressful to go running. I was afraid of getting a bad result, afraid of not being good enough. This is where a negative spiral begins. It’s not easy to get out of it. I managed it from time to time, achieving good results here and there, but it was not up to my abilities. This season I showed that I was consistent.
What does it feel like to ride for the best rider in the world?
P.S. : I’m not going to say it’s easy, because it’s still difficult to live up to it. But with a leader like him, it’s easier to be a teammate. Every time, he wins when we get the job done. It’s a huge pleasure for us to know that when we start a race, we often end with a victory, as we did in the Tour de France. Beyond that, he’s still a normal guy. We do our job, we have fun, we laugh a lot. We have a very good relationship, we have a very good group on the team.
Tadej? The ease with which he wins…
Did you expect such a successful season from him?
P.S. : Frankly ? No. The ease with which he wins… He really turned a corner this year, we could all see it. I wasn’t really expecting all this. The Tour de France, I really believed in it, but for him to win all the other races like that, in this way, was really incredible. I think he impressed everyone.
The PR debate: Pogacar’s victories, exciting or boring?
As you mentioned, there are victories but there is also manner. Were these lone raids all part of the planned strategy?
P.S. : Often it’s instinct. At the Worlds, we know that it’s his instinct. When he decides to go, he goes and he’s not afraid. I think that’s also what makes him such a champion, he doesn’t calculate. He knows what he can do. He often surprises his opponents as he was able to do at the world championship. I don’t think anyone expected his 100 kilometer attack and he really put on a show.
Behind him, no one ever manages to come back when he attacks and besides, we honestly have the impression that we are racing for second place when he is there…
P.S. : No, I don’t think so. It’s often like that when a runner sets off alone and he has the legs. In the second group, there will always be a little less collaboration than a guy who rides alone. At the world championship, all the guys behind were isolated. They didn’t really have any teammates. The guy in front always has an advantage. At the Worlds, he told me: “They’re going to look at each other, let’s go.” He was right. If I had his legs, I think I’d do the same. It’s not just that the guys behind it suck. It’s also tactically, it’s visible.
Pogacar alone in the world: Sivakov is dropped 50 km away
We cannot talk about your relationship without talking about this world championship in which you rode together. Did he warn you before his attack?
P.S. : No not at all. We were on different teams, we had different tactics. My role was to anticipate as I did. I was super happy with the group I had. I told myself that we could go really, really far. When I saw him coming, I thought, “It’s still early.” I told myself I would try to follow him. He really put me in the red in the bump. I exerted maximum effort just to stay attached to his wheel. And then, I collaborated a little bit with him. It was my only chance to try for a medal. For me, it was the right tactic to try to stay with him, collaborate and do the minimum. But there you have it, his tempo… We’ve seen lots of runners this season trying to follow him and burning out. Afterwards, the race is over.
The Worlds? At first I thought I could stay in Tadej’s wheel…
At what point did you understand that it would be hard to stay on track until the end?
P.S. : At first, I believed it. When I tipped over at the top of the bump, I had to recover but the circuit didn’t allow it, even on the descent. I could not recover from this first effort. It would have taken me a long descent, a descent of the pass. But at first, I believed it. I said to myself: “I’m with him, he’s the best runner in the race.” I wanted to do like (Valentin) Madouas at the Olympics with Remco Evenepoel (the Frenchman had held the wheel of the Belgian, future Olympic champion, for as long as possible before finishing 2nd, editor’s note).
Back to UAE, did you, as we have read, ask to do the Tour de France before signing your contract?
P.S. : Yes, it’s true. It was one of the conditions. It’s really a race that I really wanted to take part in. I only had one opportunity to do this at INEOS. It made me extremely happy to have participated and to have the confidence that I had this year for the Tour. As I said, I got sick in the Dauphiné so I wasn’t at 100% of my abilities on the Tour, but I was still strong and I was really able to do everything I had to. TO DO.
Can you talk about what it’s like to be in the team that dominates the Tour de France and locks down the race?
P.S. : When it’s like that, there’s an element of confidence that circulates within the team and all the riders are really super motivated. We really have an exceptional dynamic. Every day, we are motivated to fight and really hurt others. This, I think, is also our strength, this motivation. This dynamic in the team is linked to the culture of winning.
We imagine that Tadej Pogacar is not the last to set the mood…
P.S. : There was a great atmosphere within the team. We laughed for three weeks and Tadej was really relaxed. He has pressure when he has to perform but he knew he was in good condition and I think that’s what makes him strong. He doesn’t worry too much and we see the result. Even after the Giro, he was 100% from the start of the Tour.
We saw him last week take on the role of boss on the Trois Vallées Varésines and that’s something new…
P.S. : He doesn’t put himself forward but he behaved like a boss because he is the world champion and the organizers listen to him. I saw a lot of runners go up to him to ask him to speak. It is also not his role to decide whether to cancel the race or not. Many runners pushed him to speak and he did well. It was dangerous. He really managed to behave like a boss. He didn’t, but only because he had never been in a situation like this.
