How the Tour changed my life (V/VI)

"An eye-opener to what I'm capable of "  
A bucolic landscape and Zoom-bombing goats: Urska  Zigart was visiting some friends, lounging in the middle of a sprawling garden, when she sat down for our video interview. This sunny 21 June was her first day back in her country since the start of the season. The Slovenian cyclist wanted to spend some time with the people she cares about, 24 hours before claiming her third national time trial championship. Such is life for the Jayco AlUla rider, who goes from altitude training camps to criss-crossing the globe for races and then back to her residence in Monaco, which she shares with Tadej Pogacar, a two-time winner of the Tour de France (2020 and 2021). "For Tadej, [the Tour] changed his life. In my way, it kind of did so too", says the cyclist who burst onto the scene in last year's Grande Boucle, where she took eighth place at Le Markstein, going toe to toe with the best climbers in the world. The big stage in the Vosges made "believe in [herself] a bit more". She recently proved it was no fluke by taking seventh place overall in the Tour de Suisse, which ended on the eve of our interview. "Super happy" with her performance in Helvetia, her best result in a stage race so far, she came tantalisingly close to her first WorldTour victory in stage 3, where she was reeled in with the finish line in sight after a solo breakaway. She is hitting all the right notes with the Tour just around the corner. While she is not on her team's shortlist, the 26-year-old stands "ready" to join the party if a slot is freed up, as was the case last year.

Urska Zigart (Team Jayco AlUla)
Born in Slovenska Bistrica (Slovenia) on 4 December 1996

Teams
BTC City Ljubljana (2015 to 2019), Alé BTC Ljubljana (2020), Team BikeExchange (2021), Team BikeExchange–Jayco (2022) and Team Jayco AlUla (2023)

Major results

• 2018: Seventh in the Mediterranean Games
• 2019: Seventh in the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas
• 2020: Slovenian national time trial champion, tenth in the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche
• 2021: Stage 4 of the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana
• 2022: Slovenian national time trial champion, eighth in stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
• 2023: Slovenian national time trial champion, seventh in the Tour de Suisse Women

Signature trait
Hailing from Slovenska Bistrica, not far from Maribor, Urska Zigart got hooked on cycling on a bicycle… a stationary bicycle, that is. "You know, the kind that mums buy but never use", she smiles. "I watched movies and sometimes even studied while pushing the pedals… That's how I realised I really liked this!" That's how she wound up getting in touch with "the only team" in Slovenia, BTC City Ljubljana, to go out on her first group training ride at almost 19 years old.

Congrats on your Tour de Suisse. You finished seventh, your best GC result in the WorldTour. And you also came very close to a stage victory, which would have been your first at this level.
I'm super happy with how the Tour de Suisse went, we were waiting to see how the TT would go and then we were reassessing the options for the GC. In the third stage, my goal was to win the stage, I came very close, but yeah… I
know what I'm capable of. Yesterday, I was just trying to save as much as I could because I wasn't sure how my legs would be after the third stage. I'm really happy with how it went. It's my best performance in a stage race.

How happy are you with your shape, one month before the start of the Tour?
I'm really happy, I've been to altitude, I've been working hard. I think it's all coming together. But I have to say, for now, I'm not on the team for the Tour. Maybe this will change, it depends on how the Giro goes. We never know. My plan is to do [the nationals and then] the Giro.

You weren't in the initial selection last year either…
Yeah, already when we were making plans, they told me I wasn't on the team for the Tour. I said, "OK, but I will still be ready for the Tour if you need me like last year". I will be ready for whatever.

And it went very well for you last year…. Everyone was amazed last year by your performance in the Le Markstein stage. What about you? How surprised were you?
You know, we don't get many races with really long climbs. I was super, super happy about that day because [the sound of a Slovenian interrupts the interview and cracks her up, she turns the screen] finally we got some long climbs where I was able to show what my strong side is, that is just pure climbing. When I came to the group of favourites [she had been dropped at the base of the Petit Ballon but managed to claw her way back], my goal was just to survive. I was just so happy to just be there. It was kind of an eye-opener to what I'm capable of. I think that day changed my perspective and made me believe in myself a bit more.

On the days before that, we always saw you at the back of the peloton. Can we say you are struggling to fight for position?
Yeah, I think this is one of my things to really improve. It's just that I started racing quite late, when I was already in the Elite category. I never learned how to fight in a group [more laughter as the goat pops up again behind her —"I didn't expect the interview to turn out like this!"]. Yeah, this is still one of the things that I really need to improve. The team help me a lot, they believe that I can be there in the future. This is something that I work on, also the descents, of course, I'm not at my most comfortable. If I improve my technical abilities, I can also shine in different kinds of races. But I wouldn't mind more long climbs!

What are the new perspectives you were talking about after the Le Marsktein stage?
It was just one of the first times that I was there, climbing with the best. You know, you see your numbers in training, you can see how the stage is, but once you are there, you really see "this is how strong I am, this is how far I can go". You start to think differently about the future.

“ It was really necessary in the calendar to place our sport a bit higher. ”

Would you say that the Tour is the race that was missing, in the calendar, to give you the opportunity to shine?
Yes. But not just for me to shine. It was just necessary for it to be in the women's calendar. Because you see a lot of people and you say "I'm a pro cyclist", so they're like, "Oh, so you do the Tour de France?" Until last year, we couldn't say this. And now, we can! "Yeah, we have our own Tour de France". So they know it's a real job, it's real. They know what you do. So I think it was really necessary in the calendar to place our sport a bit higher. The organisation, the public kind of stepped up immediately. Even though it was the first edition of the new era, it was the biggest race on the calendar. It was amazing to see how many people came out to support us. You really see your job come true. "Maybe what I'm doing matters because it brings joy to the people, they praise the show".

Now, with Tadej Pogacar, you can both discuss what it is like to do the Tour de France.
Yeah, for him, it's a little bit different ! But yeah, we both know how stressful it is and why this is the biggest race in the world. Everybody prepares for it as best as they can. For Tadej, of course, it changed his life, it changed his trajectory. In my way, it kind of did so too. As a plus one and as a rider. It's something that had a big impact on our lives.

How would you describe the influence of his victories on your career?
It's always very motivating. Because I often train with him, I know how hard he works. Not that I try to be the same, because that's just impossible. He's really one of a kind in the world. It's just kind of motivating, it helps to push through every day. We can be there for each other.

How does he support you in your career ? He came to see you last year at the start of the second stage, the day after he finished the Tour.
Of course, whenever we can, we try to visit each other. Often, it's not [possible] because we have different schedules, training camps and everything. We just try to be there for each other, 10 minutes before the start, we are like "Oh, good luck" and things like this. It's just nice to have somebody who understands you. It goes both ways to understand you and support you. I also think the most important thing is to be there when things don't go all right, because when you win, when you're best, everybody is around you. But when it starts to go wrong, it's really important to have somebody there for you.

Evita Muzic is sharing her home with the rider of Cofidis, Eddy Finé. She told me that they trained as much as possible when they are together at home. Do you do as well with Tadej?
Yes, Almost every day when we're together! If we have the same schedules, then, of course. Or even if it's just one hour of difference, maybe somebody does a little bit longer, but normally we always start together. He waits for me at the top of the climb, maybe two or three minutes, or he just turns around and picks me up for the last kilometre. I know it's hard … I needed a long time to really see how that's working for me because a lot of time you can be there following, thinking "Oh I can do this, I can do this", and then you can go over the line really fast and get overtrained, because the guys are the guys, you know. I completely understand her and her boyfriend, we try to do the same because our time together is limited. I imagine, for them it's the same, Evita is a really strong climber, I think she has no problem following her boyfriend!

“ If you win on the Tourmalet, it's crazy. I think that's the dream of every cyclist.”

Climbing the Tourmalet is something you look forward to.
Of course, it's an iconic climb. If you win on the Tourmalet, it's crazy. I imagine the fans there, it would be on a weekend… I think that's the dream of every cyclist, to climb in the peloton. Let's hope I can do it and that I'll have good legs to do something very iconic!

What is your ambition this season for the Grand Tours ? A top 10 in a GC, for example?
In Switzerland, it was my first World Tour GC result. I don't want to expect too much of myself. We have Ane Santesteban in the team for the GC, and she's super strong. I'm more than happy to help her to get a result. But if I can be there as well, that's only a plus for the team. We have more cards to play. But I really don't want to pressure myself. If I can win like I tried on the third stage and win a stage in the Giro or the Tour, I think that would already be a big thing for me. Anything else and the GC is just a bonus.