FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 18 - Gap to Barcelonnette - Gap, France - July 18, 2024 UAE Team Emirates' Tadej Pogacar wearing the yellow jersey is seen before the start of stage 18 REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
(Reuters) - Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar heads into this month's cycling Road World Championships seeking his first title, but the 25-year-old said he has extra confidence after winning the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal on Sunday.
Pogacar, who won his third Tour in July to add to his Giro d'Italia victory, is looking to become the third man to clinch cycling's "Triple Crown", previously achieved by Belgium's Eddy Merckx in 1974 and Irishman Stephen Roche in 1987.
The Slovenian finished third at last year's World Championships in Glasgow
"For sure, today gave me a lot of confidence and motivation," Pogacar told reporters.
"(In) two weeks you cannot do really a lot in terms of shape but just a few more training (sessions), some long, some intensive but not too much. Then I think we are ready for the World Championships...
"The chance is always there, it's always been there. I had the chance last year and took third place on a parcours that didn't suit me the most. But this year it is much better so the chances for me are bigger.
"But World Championships are World Championships, if not everything goes to perfection, it's hard to win."
The 2024 World Championships will take place from Sept. 21-29 in Zurich, Switzerland.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)
