Tadey Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) may be the next "cannibal," but even this 22-year-old double Tour de France champion controlled his cannibal instincts and not just his legs to win stage 4 of the Tirreno-Adriatico but also with his head.

When rival Lemko Evenpole (Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl) made a breakaway with teammates Julien Alaphilippe and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) on the first climb with 40km to go, Pogachar, of course Pogachar joined them.

But unlike Wednesday, when he launched a late attack and was eventually swept away, this time Pogachar chose to race smart and wait for the final climb to the finish. Perhaps because he knew that he could win the stage, gain a 10-second time bonus, and lead the race on the uphill finish to Velante.

Knowing that the most difficult stage in Tirreno-Adriatico was coming up on Friday and Saturday, he did what he needed to do and nothing more.

"You have to use your head. Otherwise, if you ride too hard, you could crash at any moment. I tried to control the last kilometer," Pogachar explained, insisting that he was not a cannibal.

"When you don't need to win, you don't need to win. But sometimes, like today, no one is responsible for pulling. Our team ran the first 200 km, so we have to repay everyone in some way."

"Lemko was strong on the last climb, but I think he tried too hard and used too much energy. Lemko really wanted to go, but I was getting information that he was full-gassed from behind, so I didn't think he had a chance. He is a super rider, but maybe he used too much energy early in the race."

When Pogachar finally set the race on fire in the last 600 meters, he had the power and speed to pull away from everyone, as he has done so many times over the past three years.

He won with both hands raised and a 10-second time bonus, putting him two seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma), Victor Lafaye (Cofidis), and Evenpoel. Others were further behind, with Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) 25 seconds behind and Pogachar taking the leader's blue jersey.

"The last few kilometers were pretty hard and there were a lot of attacks. Me and Marc [Soler] handled it well, sometimes I went, sometimes the other one went, and we were in control. In the last 600 meters, I thought this was the moment to attack, so I counter-attacked.

Despite appearing to be in complete control, Pogachal suggested that he and UAE Team Emirates were worried that someone would break away on the final climb.

"I was worried about a lot of people in the final, like 30 or whatever," he claimed.

"On a climb like that, if you just sit up a little bit, someone is going to attack you, and if you can't keep up with them, you're going to go to the finish. It was great for us that we didn't have to worry in the last 100 meters."

UAE Team Emirates celebrated a double victory day, but like everyone, Pogachar, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war in Europe, is He is aware of this. When asked about the war, Pogachar was clearly moved and spoke from the heart.

"It's not a good situation, in fact it's really sad.

"When you're in a cycling race you can distract yourself a little bit, but as soon as you turn on your phone or open social media it's sad news. I want it to be over as soon as possible. I hope the damage is not too great. We are all praying for Ukraine."