Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Lequack]

The Belgian races elude him. If only Mur de Huy was in Italy or France.

 

[yaco]

Could be doubtful for LBL because of family issues.

 

[Boes]

I personally think his aim was a peak that stretches from MSR to RVV. LBL is a race he already won and Pogacar seems like a guy that really wants to strive for 5. Even Pogacar can't peak from UAE tour all the way to Liège.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be suprised if he wins in Liège, but I don't expect him to be as dominant in LBL as he was in Flanders where he was the strongest in the race. The sprint in Huy never lies. Guys that end up top 20 usually do wel in LBL.

 

[tobydawq]

I saw today that he wasn't even the best-placed Slovenian named Tadej in an edition of the Flèche Wallonne where Valverde was second.

Because in 2007, Tadej Valjavec was 10th. Pretty poor not to be able to break that record.

 

[Earns1985]

Could be doubtful for LBL because of family issues.

The mother of his fiancée died. For this reason he didn´t make the recon yesterday, but he is scheduled to return to Liege on saturday..

Lüttich-Bastogne-Lüttich: Streckenerkundung ohne Pogacar | radsport-news.com

www.radsport-news.com

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

He's not riding LBL.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Family comes first and that is something to respect.

 

[jmdirt]

Family comes first and that is something to respect.

This is something that is often overlooked, but crucially important to mental health.

My thoughts are with TP and his in-laws.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Short interview with Eddy Merckx for Slovenian media.

Merckx: Pogačar malce spominja name, saj ne čaka do zadnjega, da dobi etapo

Najuspešnejši kolesar v zgodovini Eddy Merckx še vedno zelo podrobno spremlja največje dirke na svetu. Navdušujejo ga predvsem Slovenci, ki so letos dobili že pet dirk svetovne serije.

www.rtvslo.si

He visited Slovenia in 1961. It was his first trip abroad. With a group of students he visited Bled and did some hiking in surrounding hills. Pogačar reminds him of him. Not waiting till the end to win a stage. He still watches biggest races on TV and enjoys that much more then selfies and signing autographs. He mentioned Mohorič and Roglič. He sees all three as champions that always race to win.

Chapeau!

 

[Krzysztof_O]

It seems the Ardenne classics were a game changer for Pogacar. Dropped by a 100 yo Spanish guy on a tiny Belgian hill while Evenepoel finally turned into an unbeatable beast. The end is near: maybe a farewell race in Slovenia before he rides off into the sunset.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Pogi didn't sign for Netflix series and Netflix lost 200k subscribers.

 

[greyclouds]

Short interview with Eddy Merckx for Slovenian media.

Merckx: Pogačar malce spominja name, saj ne čaka do zadnjega, da dobi etapo

Najuspešnejši kolesar v zgodovini Eddy Merckx še vedno zelo podrobno spremlja največje dirke na svetu. Navdušujejo ga predvsem Slovenci, ki so letos dobili že pet dirk svetovne serije.

www.rtvslo.si

He visited Slovenia in 1961. It was his first trip abroad. With a group of students he visited Bled and did some hiking in surrounding hills. Pogačar reminds him of him. Not waiting till the end to win a stage. He still watches biggest races on TV and enjoys that much more then selfies and signing autographs. He mentioned Mohorič and Roglič. He sees all three as champions that always race to win.

Chapeau!

Are we sure that Merckx didn’t visit Slovenia in early 1998?

 

[TheHammibal]

Tadej is listed on the start list for the Criterium du Dauphine. Change of plans?

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/dauphine/2022/startlist

 

[ppanther92]

Tadej is listed on the start list for the Criterium du Dauphine. Change of plans?

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/dauphine/2022/startlist

What were the plans?

 

[KZD]

What were the plans?

Tour of Slovenia

 

[ppanther92]

Tour of Slovenia

Oh yeah, makes sense.

 

[Billie]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1521007034505875456

View: https://twitter.com/cirogazzetta/status/1521007034505875456

 

[hayneplane]

Tadej is listed on the start list for the Criterium du Dauphine. Change of plans?

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/dauphine/2022/startlist

He is listed for both Dauphine and Slovenia which seems highly unlikely he will do both even though theoretically possible with the dates.

 

[acm]

He'll race Tour of Slovenia 100%. That was confirmed at the route presentation last month.

 

[postmanhat]

He is listed for both Dauphine and Slovenia which seems highly unlikely he will do both even though theoretically possible with the dates.

He's been removed from the Dauphine start list now.

 

[Bonimenier]

He's been removed from the Dauphine start list now.

He's clearly scared of Froome

 

[CyclistAbi]

Likely ASO was at play. That is today Primož confirmed he is doing Dauphiné and no nationals. Obviously Tadej to participate at nationals and no Dauphiné.

Makes sense.

 

[Red Rick]

Likely ASO was at play. That is today Primož confirmed he is doing Dauphiné and no nationals. Obviously Tadej to participate at nationals and no Dauphiné.

Makes sense.

Taking 5.5 million a year + disappearance fees to not show up to races what a life.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

No news from Tadej himself in the last couple of weeks, probably due to family situation. I'm curious how he will prepare for the Tour+Vuelta double. It's incredibly difficult for a few reasons:
-he has to be super strong for his first GT (which has the biggest competition) and can't just build his form there
-he can hit his peak form pretty quickly making it even more difficult to peak for the second GT
-the competition at the Vuelta is also strong, including Roglic (who may find himself in similar situation to Pog, so in a way it's an equalizer, unless Rog crashes out of the Tour again, then he is favoured).
Not expecting any special strategy though: put the hammer down at the Tour and see how much energy is left at the Vuelta.

 

[CyclistAbi]

He gave an interview for local media today. He really appreciates his team was 100% behind him in regards to skipping LBL. Did some training in Slovenia and today i guess he participated in some promotional rides. He noted that winning Tour of Slovenia will likely be harder this year but it should suit him as a good preparation for the Tour.

As for the Tour. Tadej said there are others but his main rival will be Primož. They respect each other and when they participate in the same race they become rivals each wanting to win. They always push each other to the limit.