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Tadej Pogacar clinched victory in the Paris-Nice race on Sunday while fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic won the Tirreno-Adriatico.<\/span><\/p>\n Two-time Tour de France winner Pogacar was racing in the eight-day event for the first time and won his third stage of this year’s event.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n He finished alone to beat France’s David Gaudu by 53 seconds, with Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard in third.<\/span><\/p>\n “It was always my dream to win Paris-Nice,” said Pogacar, 24.<\/span><\/p>\n “The competition here was really huge. To be alongside David Gaudu and Jonas Vingegaard on the podium is special.”<\/span><\/p>\n Pogacar has changed his schedule this season in a bid to regain the Tour title he let slip to Vingegaard in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n The UAE Team Emirates rider was leading Paris-Nice going into Sunday’s mountainous stage in the Nice backcountry and made a solo break on the final climb.<\/span><\/p>\n “I really know these roads,” said the Monaco resident. “I knew exactly how my legs were on the final climb. I was really good with maths today. I calculated it great.”<\/span><\/p>\n Pogacar won stages four, seven and eight, with the sixth cancelled because of dangerously high wind speeds between Tourves and La Colle-sur-Loup.<\/span><\/p>\n Pogacar won the Tirreno-Adriatico in 2021 and 2022, while Roglic won last year’s Paris-Nice race.<\/span><\/p>\n But roles were reversed this year as Roglic, 33, won the Tirreno-Adriatico after finishing comfortably in the bunch as Jasper Philipsen won the final stage in a sprint.<\/span><\/p>\n It was the Belgian’s second stage win this year but Roglic had won the previous three stages to set the Jumbo-Visma rider on course for a second overall victory in Italy’s seven-stage race, having also won in 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n Tom Pidcock crashed out of the race early in the stage, ending a difficult week for the Briton after <\/span>he won the Strade Bianche last weekend.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n