Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Cycling111]

This seems to be mental fatigue. He is starting to not enjoy cycling anymore.
I get the impression he doesn't like the Tour and he only rides because of his team.
I'm starting to think he doesn't give a $### anymore and he is just counting miles until Paris.

But I'm the one who says negative things

This feeling is common in the last week of the Tour, so let's not be so catastrophic.

 

[yaf2]

He has time to recover. And as I said, this feeling in the third week of the Tour is common, and he'll feel it even more in other years.

And we don't know if he'll have a more serious accident next year or how many years his performance will last.

That's why it's best to do the Vuelta this year. Mentally, it would also be better; win it and forget about it, and starting next year, he'll just do the Tour and not do any more stage races if he doesn't want to.

But not doing the Vuelta will be a burden in the future, and the more time passes, the more difficult it is to do the Tour-Vuelta.
Indurian missed out on winning it because of this. He always said he was mentally exhausted, and when he wanted to go to the Vuelta because he couldn't win the Tour anymore, he couldn't win the Vuelta either.
He said he regretted it, he is one of the winners of 5 Tours who hasn´t won the 3 GTs

My question with UAE is this point. Will they tell him what I'm saying, or will they see an opportunity in the face of the problem with Ayuso? The UAE should advise them on the former, but I suspect they'll have seen a solution in this given their internal problems with Ayuso.

The ayuso situation is irrelevant for pogs decision to ride vuelta. Nobody is in a position at uae to tell him he isn't riding vuelta its just his decision whether he likes it or not

 

[Peyroteo94]

But I'm the one who says negative things

This feeling is common in the last week of the Tour, so let's not be so catastrophic.

The way he is racing is not similar to his old self.

 

[pelotonIQ]

I hope he will give us a show today on La Plagne

It's crazy that despite Pogacar is up 4:30 minutes we still rely on him to give us entertainment in the mountains when it's Vingegaard that should be forcing the action.

 

[carolina]

I would love to see him do Giro+Vuelta next year.

 

[Peyroteo94]

It's crazy that despite Pogacar is up 4:30 minutes we still rely on him to give us entertainment in the mountains when it's Vingegaard that should be forcing the action.

Vingegaard will attack for sure. But on Plagne, Pogacar can go after the stage win. He can gain 3 minutes in 10 km to everybody not named Vingegaard. UAE must give him a chance, there are only 95 km of stage.

 

[Cycling111]

It's crazy that despite Pogacar is up 4:30 minutes we still rely on him to give us entertainment in the mountains when it's Vingegaard that should be forcing the action.

Looking at yesterday's stage, I value what Pogacar did at Hautacam 2022 even more.

He attacked a thousand times without any helper ahead of him. In fact, the one who was ahead was Van Aert for his rival.
He did it all alone, and he had a crash on the descent of Hautacam that left him bloodied.

Doing that carries a greater risk of exploding, but he did it.

That's why people prefer GTs with Pogacar second , because Pogacar is much more suicidal. But they criticize him.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I would love to see him do Giro+Vuelta next year.

No. He can be a Tour's record holder and I hope he rides PR again.

 

[Cycling111]

I would love to see him do Giro+Vuelta next year.

No, he has to win 5 Tours

That's indisputable, TDF must be contested at his peak, especially in this sport where a serious accident can occur.When he wins 5, he'll decide whether to go for 6, but he has to win 5 to surpass Hinault. If he only wins 4, will always be a reason for them to say that he isn´t at least the second best in history.

 

[carolina]

No. He can be a Tour's record holder and I hope he rides PR again.

He can do that in 2027 and all the other years after that.

 

[Offline]

Pogacar will be at the Tour every year. That's what UAE paid him for..

 

[Cycling111]

He can do that in 2027 and all the other years after that.

He could have an accident or lose some level. In this sport, you can't think about the future, just live in the present.
Once he wins five Tours, he can decide what he wants, but he has to reach five to be considered better than Hinault;It's the only thing he lacks against him. And a Vuelta, which is the next thing they'll remind him he hasn't won.

Winning the Tour is difficult, let's not lose perspective . He needs to continue this momentum, not interrupt it. A lot can happen between now and 2027.

 

[Peyroteo94]

He can do that in 2027 and all the other years after that.

2027 is the year he will win 6 TdF

 

[Rou]

If he skips the Vuelta again I would be very disappointed with him.
@Peyroteo94 if he misses the Vuelta it kind of validates my point that he can't do a TDF - Vuelta double.
Jonas is more cooked than him (mentally and physically) and he is still planned for the Vuelta.

 

[Peyroteo94]

If he skips the Vuelta again I would be very disappointed with him.
@Peyroteo94 if he misses the Vuelta it kind of validates my point that he can't do a TDF - Vuelta double.
Jonas is more cooked than him (mentally and physically) and he is still planned for the Vuelta.

Not at all Rou. We don't need to be a genius to take a look on Vingegaard's schedule and Pogacar's schedule before the Tour (please don't talk about race days, doing PR is way harder than doing 3 or 4 stages in a row in Volta ao Algarve). And we need to add WC+GdL. Pogacar wants to win both, Vingegaard doesn't.

 

[Rou]

Not at all Rou. We don't need to be a genius to take a look on Vingegaard's schedule and Pogacar's schedule. And we need to add WC+GdL. Pogacar wants to win both, Vingegaard doesn't.

Nah, I don't buy the excuses. He'll be at 43 race days after the Tour. He'll finish in the low 50s if he doesn't do the Vuelta.
He said he wants to try new things and if he does the same old boring Lombardia buildup it will be a letdown for me.
Lombardia is a race that a small number of riders care about.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Nah, I don't buy the excuses. He'll be at 43 race days after the Tour. He'll finish in the low 50s if he doesn't do the Vuelta.
He said he wants to try new things and if he does the same old boring Lombardia buildup it will be a letdown for me.
Lombardia is a race that a small number of riders care about.

I'm with you.
WC+GdL - a lot of riders target these 2 races for sure.
It's not an excuse, don't look to race days. Doing PR is not the same as doing a TTT in PN for example and you know that. It's important to look to race days but we can't forget the context. PR+RVV+Ardennes is harder than everything Vingegaard did this season before the Dauphiné.

 

[Cycling111]

This year, Slovenia is a weaker team than last year. Tratnik has dropped in level, and Roglic might not do the trip, he didn´t got to Australia either.

And he's not going to surprise them again 100 kilometers from the finish.
This is the year to go to the Vuelta. I see a more likely win in Canada and Sallanches. Especially Sallanches because it's a consistently tough circuit, and he can do it without a team.

 

[Rou]

I'm with you.
WC+GdL - a lot of riders target these 2 races for sure.
It's not an excuse, don't look to race days. Doing PR is not the same as doing a TTT in PN for example and you know that. It's important to look to race days but we can't forget the context. PR+RVV+Ardennes is harder than everything Vingegaard did this season before the Dauphiné.

I know that it's harder but Pogacar is fighting Merckx palmares not Vingegaard.
The Vuelta route this year is easy and Pogacar should feel lucky with that. Some years the route is much harder and the opposition may be stronger as well.
If he misses the Vuelta for a 6th year in a row... I'm sorry but I don't like that.

 

[Rou]

One more thing - about spending more time with his woman.
I don't buy this as well.
I'm sorry but Vingegaard has two small kids and a wife and is making the sacrifices for the races.

 

[Rou]

I'm with @Cycling111 on this - Pogacar needs to tick off the Vuelta as soon as possible and get it over with.
He is at his peak years now and with every passing season it will be harder and harder to do it.

 

[bill1109]

If he skips the Vuelta again I would be very disappointed with him.
@Peyroteo94 if he misses the Vuelta it kind of validates my point that he can't do a TDF - Vuelta double.
Jonas is more cooked than him (mentally and physically) and he is still planned for the Vuelta.

I'm sure Pog cares what discourages you. Lol. Who cares if he can't do Vuelta? .. speculation on your part.. or if he doesn't want to do Vuelta? ..reality on pogs part . Who cares if Jonas is more or less cooked than Pog? Pogs calendar isn't made for your entertainment or forum cred. Does Pog really need to go and win the Vuelta this year to prove he is dominant rider .. to you...? I'm sure Jonas knows that Pog knows he is the top rider and doesn't need to prove it at Vuelta. The 4 plus minute lead at tour de France shows it clear enough.
I hope Pog does not do Vuelta and let's Jonas and visma win it if he isnt there. Because visma knows if they win it's only because Pog isn't there. But if uae doesn't want visma to win 2 of 3 grand tours then I hope Pog goes and wins and sets visma back. But it's only a bike race and it's supposed to be entertainment.

 

[Rou]

I'm sure Pog cares what discourages you. Lol. Who cares if he can't do Vuelta? .. speculation on your part.. or if he doesn't want to do Vuelta? ..reality on pogs part . Who cares if Jonas is more or less cooked than Pog? Pogs calendar isn't made for your entertainment or forum cred. Does Pog really need to go and win the Vuelta this year to prove he is dominant rider .. to you...? I'm sure Jonas knows that Pog knows he is the top rider and doesn't need to prove it at Vuelta. The 4 plus minute lead at tour de France shows it clear enough.
I hope Pog does not do Vuelta and let's Jonas and visma win it if he isnt there. Because visma knows if they win it's only because Pog isn't there. But if uae doesn't want visma to win 2 of 3 grand tours then I hope Pog goes and wins and sets visma back. But it's only a bike race and it's supposed to be entertainment.

Pog doesn't need to prove anything to me.
He needs to prove to the world that he is greater than Merckx.
Compared to last year this year's TDF for him has been mediocre. Maybe there is a reason for it. We will know soon enough.

 

[Salvarani]

Said all along that he probably would not do the Vuelta.

With intense Classics, prep for the Tour, Dauphine and the Tour itself...

I always thought chances for Vuelta was slim and not a good idea this season.

He can do the Tour + Vuelta combo when he takes it easier in the spring, or the Giro-Vuelta combo if he for some reason in the future wont do the Tour.

Vuelta just not a huge priority at the moment. He still has plenty of time to win it. The obsessive nature that he has to tick it off soon from some is not healthy.

We will see what happens after the Tour, if he goes or not.

 

[Offline]

Vuelta not important to me as a fan. Worlds over every year! Don't care even if he isn't every winning the Vuelta tbh

Pogacar need to be 100% to win Worlds bc of weak team