PARIS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar has admitted his girlfriend's non-selection to represent Slovenia at the Paris Olympics was one of the reasons behind his decision to withdraw from Paris.
The 25-year-old on Sunday added his third Tour de France win to the Giro de Italia that he won earlier in the year and was the favorite for gold in the 273-kilometer Olympic road race.
Less than 24 hours after celebrating his crushing victory in the Tour, the Slovenian Olympic Committee announced that he had withdrawn from the Games, citing fatigue.
However, Pogacar competed in a criterium race in the Netherlands on Tuesday and before that race, he told the press that the fact his girlfriend Urska Zigart had not been chosen to represent Slovenia was another factor for his no-show in Paris.
"It's not the main reason, but for sure it didn't help. I think she deserves her spot. She's the double national champion in road race and time trial," he said on Dutch TV, pointing out Zigart was the only woman cyclist in Slovenia that ever achieved top 10 in week-long World Tour races and did great in the last two years winning points for Slovenia.
"Without her, they wouldn't have two spots in the road race," he added.
The cyclist said that he would now look to rest, before competing in the World Championships in September.
