Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Cycling111]

After all his interviews I won't be surprise if he will take one year off in TdF.

He loves classics because he could go deep and not think about tommorow. Even on the Giro or in Vuelta he could go there and have fun. In TDF is always the presure and even with big time margin he was focus about controlling and in my opinion he hates it.

I hope he will go to the Vuelta and have freedom, real freedom.

I see it the other way around. By saying he's not going to have a long career, he knows he has to win the fifth Tour as soon as possible because he won't be at this levels many years.

And I think we're giving too much importance to statements made in the third week after being sick for a few days.

In the second week, his statements were very different, and he said he hadn't come here to make friends but to win.
The statements have changed with mental exhaustion, exacerbated by being sick.

You're concluding that he won't be going to the Tour in 2026, when a week ago he was saying he wanted to win a lot of stages in the Tour. What matters is what he'll think after a few weeks of rest, and I have no doubt it will be to win the fifth Tour as soon as possible. When he achieves that, he'll be able to think about other options. Now, they're simply statements made at moment of tiredness; a week ago, his statements were very different

 

[QueenStagiaire]

No way he races until 36. He is a winner and no other rider has won for 15 years.

Valverde won for 20 years. Sean Kelly won MSR at 35 and raced until 38, Moser raced up to 36, De Vlaeminck was still around at 36 (although he wasn‘t the most successful his last five years), nowadays Froome is still riding at 40, Nibali went until 37, Boonen was 36. Plenty of greats stayed there until high age. I‘m not sure he‘ll stay until he‘s 36, but I can‘t see him stopping before 2030, that would be unprecedented.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I think he’d be crazy not to go for number 5 and hopefully 6 at the tour while he’s still young and dominant, if he gets the 5 the pressures off somewhat as well.

Of course he will. UAE will not let him out of the Tour.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Valverde won for 20 years. Sean Kelly won MSR at 35 and raced until 38, Moser raced up to 36, De Vlaeminck was still around at 36 (although he wasn‘t the most successful his last five years), nowadays Froome is still riding at 40, Nibali went until 37, Boonen was 36. Plenty of greats stayed there until high age. I‘m not sure he‘ll stay until he‘s 36, but I can‘t see him stopping before 2030, that would be unprecedented.

Sorry, Won=dominate an era.

 

[Cycling111]

Valverde won for 20 years. Sean Kelly won MSR at 35 and raced until 38, Moser raced up to 36, De Vlaeminck was still around at 36 (although he wasn‘t the most successful his last five years), nowadays Froome is still riding at 40, Nibali went until 37, Boonen was 36. Plenty of greats stayed there until high age. I‘m not sure he‘ll stay until he‘s 36, but I can‘t see him stopping before 2030, that would be unprecedented.

Don't compare Valverde to Pogacar or any multiple Tour winner.

What burns complete cyclists out physically and mentally are the GTs, and Valverde never felt pressured to win a Tour.

Merckx and Hinault situation wasn't even like Indurain's, who spent several years in the Tour without doing anything. Merckx and Hinault won their debut Tour like Pogacar and always felt the pressure to win, riding it at maximum physical demands.

Valverde hasn't had that physical and mental demand in the Tour. And outside of GTs, he's a cyclist who hasn't competed in Milano San Remo, and all the major races every year. He paced his seasons in smaller races in Spain, not competing in all the important classics every year, and in GTs, he didn't have the pressure of winning the Tour.

Mercx or Hinault burned twice as much in 8 years as Valverde in 20.

The comparison couldn't be more unfair.

 

[Charlyghoul]

Think he’ll ever have a go for the triple tour season? That’d go some way to overtaking Merckx, the only real unprecedented season, you could reduce his number of other accomplishments by a lot if he did the triple.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Think he’ll ever have a go for the triple tour season? That’d go some way to overtaking Merckx, the only real unprecedented season, you could reduce his number of other accomplishments by a lot if he did the triple.

I don't think so. Last year was the year

 

[Red Rick]

Merckx is an 80 year old who IIRC just had heart surgery, I don't understand the obsession with beating him. He rode in years when like 80% of the riders was from like 3 countries. The comparisons to the modern era are a joke.

 

[Cycling111]

I don't think so. Last year was the year

I'll always remember that in an interview, he said he didn't go because he had to keep the teammates happy. And in the end, the UAE Vuelta a España was a failure in GC.
The possibility of doing the 3 GTs was real but he gave up on it in favor of Almeida and Yates.

Pogacar is in a situation where he shouldn't be thinking about anyone. Merckx and the other greats didn't. And if Almeida and Ayuso get angry, then they can leave, but it is what it is.

This isn't the first time Pogacar has admitted to jeopardizing part of his schedule for this reason. It's a management error by the UAE.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Merckx is an 80 year old who IIRC just had heart surgery, I don't understand the obsession with beating him. He rode in years when like 80% of the riders was from like 3 countries. The comparisons to the modern era are a joke.

This.

 

[Charlyghoul]

Merckx is an 80 year old who IIRC just had heart surgery, I don't understand the obsession with beating him. He rode in years when like 80% of the riders was from like 3 countries. The comparisons to the modern era are a joke.

If we can’t compare, we can’t call Tadej the goat. Where’s the fun in that

 

[Peyroteo94]

If we can’t compare, we can’t call Tadej the goat. Where’s the fun in that

What he is saying is Pogacar is clearly the best and Merckx is nowhere near his level

 

[Red Rick]

If we can’t compare, we can’t call Tadej the goat. Where’s the fun in that

The fun is in the journey, not a paper sheet or some reference of some old guy I never watched race.

But if winning is guaranteed, then it stops meaning anything. It just becomes number go up.

 

[Charlyghoul]

What he is saying is Pogacar is clearly the best and Merckx is nowhere near his level

If it’s silly to compare I hope he isn’t saying that , a mighty contradiction no?

 

[Charlyghoul]

This.

Hardly, maybe true in 1910, not in the 70s.

 

[Gigs_98]

I think he’d be crazy not to go for number 5 and hopefully 6 at the tour while he’s still young and dominant, if he gets the 5 the pressures off somewhat as well.

The pressure will never be off. Once he has 5, people will say he needs 6 to break the record. Once he has 6 people will say the real record is 7. Once he has 7 he'll need 8 to be the greatest beyond any doubt.

I remember watching Marcel Hirscher ski to his 4th overall world cup in 2015 and hear him say how relieved he was because now the pressure of getting 4 in a row would drop off his shoulders. He retired in 2018 after winning 8 in a row and being completely burnt out. These guys will always find a reason to be obsessed with "the next one"

 

[Charlyghoul]

The pressure will never be off. Once he has 5, people will say he needs 6 to break the record. Once he has 6 people will say the real record is 7. Once he has 7 he'll need 8 to be the greatest beyond any doubt.

I remember watching Marcel Hirscher ski to his 4th overall world cup in 2015 and hear him say how relieved he was because now the pressure of getting 4 in a row would drop off his shoulders. He retired in 2018 after winning 8 in a row and being completely burnt out. These guys will always find a reason to be obsessed with "the next one"

Hmm, I agree in a way.
Surely 5 and 6 are really the big ones though?

 

[Peyroteo94]

Hmm, I agree in a way.
Surely 5 and 6 are really the big ones though?

15 monuments (all of them)
8 GTs (all of them)
And he is the GOAT without a doubt.

 

[Charlyghoul]

15 monuments (all of them)
8 GTs (all of them)
And he is the GOAT without a doubt.

Maybe
Pogacar is the most exciting rider for a long time.
Merckx palmares are also crazy. They race somewhat similar, it’s a shame not to be able to compare them a bit.

 

[Charlyghoul]

The fun is in the journey, not a paper sheet or some reference of some old guy I never watched race.

But if winning is guaranteed, then it stops meaning anything. It just becomes number go up.

Some old guy ?
11 grand tours
Only gc rider to win all the monuments, only rider to win all monuments twice at least.
3 x giro-tour doubles.
3 time world champ.
Hour record.
It shows how great Pogacar is to even be talked about on the same level and great compliment to him.

 

[hayneplane]

I don’t think we should take any unofficial suggestions on cycling website and social media seriously until they make a clear statement re the Vuelta.

FWIW I think the longer time passes the more likely it is that he will ride much like how they strung out the confirmation that he would ride Paris-Roubaix this year.

 

[Cycling111]

I don’t think we should take any unofficial suggestions on cycling website and social media seriously until they make a clear statement re the Vuelta.

FWIW I think the longer time passes the more likely it is that he will ride much like how they strung out the confirmation that he would ride Paris-Roubaix this year.

He hasn't said it, but I think it was clear today that he's not going to the Vuelta. But he hasn't made it official due to team protocol.

Furthermore, confirming that he's not going is confirming that Ayuso is going, because Ayuso leaked that to the Spanish press, and that he would go if Pogacar didn't go. And the UAE will want to make that official, especially now that they're having issues with his continuity. Although if Ayuso is going to the Vuelta, when UAE absolutely didn't want him to do two GTs at 23, it seems more like blackmail.

I don't believe in coincidences. And the leaks about Ayuso's departure were two days before the UAE considered him for the Vuelta. A few weeks ago, they didn't even have him as a reserve because they considered him too young to do another GT and not burn out for the future.

As soon as the news broke that he wanted to leave, UAE doesn't think he's that young anymore. LOL.
Del Toro is a year younger and they're not even considering bringing him to the Vuelta. He hasn't threatened to leave .

 

[pelotonIQ]

I prefer that Tadej carves his own path and wins races he truly enjoys instead of following the mold of other greats.

 

[jotafap]

With all this talk about Pogacar possibly retiring earlier than we expected, i just realized how depressing the sport might look when it happens. Yeah sure, first i was the biggest fan of Contador, then Sagan came, now Pogacar, and eventually someone else will take his place. But the big difference is that Pogacar is just a different animal, a once-in-a-generation talent who’s already being compared to the all-time greats. And honestly, we might not see anyone come close to him for a long time.

 

[pelotonIQ]

With all this talk about Pogacar possibly retiring earlier than we expected, i just realized how depressing the sport might look when it happens. Yeah sure, first i was the biggest fan of Contador, then Sagan came, now Pogacar, and eventually someone else will take his place. But the big difference is that Pogacar is just a different animal, a once-in-a-generation talent who’s already being compared to the all-time greats. And honestly, we might not see anyone come close to him for a long time.

I recommend you to watch Isaac Del Toro, the best GC rider in the pipeline. 2nd in Giro this season and he will begin to tear it up big time starting 2026.