Tadej Pogacar said Thursday there had been "a little question mark," but he now has "fully recovered" after suffering from COVID-19 only 10 days ago, with his bid for a third Tour de France triumph approaching.

Despite the announcement, he still was hailed as unbeatable.

"I fell ill 10 days ago," the Slovenian told a press conference in Florence. "I had COVID, and there was a little question mark, but I am fully recovered." 

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Pogacar was the Tour de France champion in 2020 and 2021 and is one of the favorites for this year's race, which gets underway in the Italian city on Saturday.

"It wasn't so bad," the Team UAE rider told journalists. "It was just a cold that passed quite quickly.

"COVID is no longer as virulent, especially if you've had the virus before. I've already had it once, maybe twice even, I don't remember."

The 25-year-old fell ill during a training camp at Isola 2000, a ski resort in the southern French Alps.

His otherwise "perfect" preparation also was upset by the death of his grandfather, and he returned to Slovenia for the funeral.

Pogacar goes into the 21-day race in red-hot form after winning the Giro d'Italia in May.

Pogacar will battle two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, the Dane who pushed him into the runner-up spot in the past two editions.

Vingegaard, 27, was not reading too much into the news of Pogacar's COVID.

"It depends if it's a bad dose," the Dane said. "I don't know how much it will take out of him, but it doesn't sound perfect."

Pogacar won the Giro d'Italia last month and is hoping to become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 - the year Pogacar was born - to win the rare Giro-TDF double.

Everyone has designated him as the big favorite for the Tour, starting with Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel, who deemed him "unbeatable" if he remains "safe and sound."

"The Giro-Tour double is difficult to achieve," Pogacar said Thursday. "It's a big challenge but I'm ready to take it on."

Peloton's Fab Four

The peloton and its Fab Four - Pogacar, Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Evenepoel - were given a rapturous reception by fans and curious tourists alike in front of the 800-year-old Palazzio Vecchio with its copy of the Michelangelo sculpture David.

Pogacar, after his heroics here in May, got the loudest cheers telling fans, "I'm honored to have superstars as teammates."

Former Vuelta and Giro champion veteran Roglic appeared the most relaxed of the four.

He arrived in the brand new 'Red Bull' outfit in black and red and a 6 million-euro contract recently signed.

"Each of us is part of the story," said the 34-year-old winner of the warm-up race, the Dauphine. "Sometimes you win, sometimes not, you have to do your best possible.

"Life offers you opportunities and to try and win the Tour, I changed teams to be here, but in the end, there's another one next year too, if this goes wrong."

The Tour sets off Saturday for four days of racing in Italy, with race director Christian Prudhomme promising a "brawl" from Day 1.

Roglic and Vingegaard tipped Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert to take the overall leader's yellow jersey while still in Italy.

Van der Poel, 29, who has had stage wins in the 2021 Tour and the 2022 Giro, revealed his Alpecin-Deceuninck team had been doing their homework, with one eye on the Paris Olympics, which follow the Tour.

"Our team have looked at nine stages," he said of how many times he or his sprinter teammate, Jasper Philipsen, could win.

"And I want to get into top shape for the Olympics right after that," he said.

How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In The United States 

A live broadcast of the 2024 Tour de France will be available on Peacock for those watching from the United States. 

Peacock is the exclusive home of the event in the United States through 2029, with start-to-finish coverage of every stage, though select stages also will air on NBC.

How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In Canada 

FloBikes will provide a live broadcast for Canadian audiences.

Viewers in Canada will be able to watch all 21 stages of the Tour de France 2024 live on FloBikes and the FloSports app.

FloBikes also will provide updates, highlights and behind-the-scenes coverage throughout the entire event for all Flo subscribers. 

Catch All The Best Races, Highlights, Insight, News And More On FloBikes

FloBikes is the streaming home to some of the best cycling from across the globe. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more of your favorites in action.

FloBikes Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloBikes subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

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