Tadej Pogacar's road to Tour de France: From Classics success to Giro d'Italia dominance

Tadej Pogacar will have more cycling history in his sights when he aims to become just the eighth rider to complete the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double in the same season.

The Slovenian leads a strong UAE Team Emirates line-up at this year's Tour, starting on Saturday, and will be determined to go one better than the past two editions when he was denied the general classification title by Jonas Vingegaard and a formidable Team Jumbo Visma (now Team Visma Lease a Bike).

Pogacar, 25, is enjoying another stellar season ahead of his bid for a third Tour de France title, and unlike last year, there haven't been any untimely injuries to hinder his preparations. Instead, it's chief rival Vingegaard who's in a race against time to build his fitness ahead of the Grand Depart after the Dane suffered multiple fractures in a fall in March.

Ahead of the start of the Tour de France, here is a look at Pogacar's 2024 season so far.

The year began for Pogacar with the prestigious Classics. Strade Bianche at the start of March was first up for the Slovenian, and he made his intentions pre-race clear: Monte Santa Maria would be the place to attack. A demanding 11.9km climb over gravelled roads with 81km of racing left, a solo attack would seem audacious for anyone but Pogačar.

True to his word, he unleashed a relentless assault, leaving his opponents behind him as the fans were treated to a Pogacar masterclass. Victory in Strade Bianche marked his first triumph and set the tone for the next few months.

Transitioning to the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Pogacar was ready to fine-tune his stage racing fitness for the upcoming Grand Tours. His form from Strade Bianche translated seamlessly, highlighted by a commanding win on top of