Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

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To optimize Tour + Vuelta performance cobbled classics should be skipped and maybe Tour of Basque Country added instead.
Pog isn't doing tour + vuelta in the coming years imo. There is no way he skips canada wc in 2026 & haute savoie(domancy) in 2027. In 2028 its olympic year & its his biggest goal so might add either tour/vuelta to his calendar not both. Imo its very likely he skips tdf in one of the next 3 years.
 
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Do you think he'll return to the Giro? Last year he said he liked it and would like to return.
Of course, last year he also said he'd do 2GT in the coming years.

I don't think he's interested in one-week races like the Basque Country. With De Ronde, it's unlikely he'll go. I don't think he'll make an effort to go to Romandy or Switzerland either.

Giro is not an option next year IMO. Most likely he'll do a very similar schedule to this year (focus on spring classics + the Tour), maybe minus Amstel. More focus on Vuelta would require some changes to this: cobble classics are difficult: they require him to peak vs MVP plus they are exhausting, he was kinda riding zigzags at the end of Roubaix.
 
To maintain the Vuelta option more open. Racing as less as possible to try Tour-Vuelta. I can see Vingegaard in the Giro next year to win all 3 GTs (Vuelta 2025 and Giro 2026).

Pogacar's schedule:
SB
MSR
RVV
PR
LBL
TdS (new goal)
TdF
Vuelta (?) or Canadian classics
WC RR
Italian Classics
Skip strade bianchi
MSR
RVV
PR
Amstel
LBL
Skip Dauphine and suisse (maybe do tour of slovenia)
Tour
Vuelta
Lombardia
Worlds

He already won strade bianchi 3 times. Its to easy for him. Maybe do omloop to take it from the list.
He dont need a preparation race before the tour.
More time to rest an train and not so much stress from the media.
 
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It's interesting, I see a lot of posters saying things like "well he won't get close to Mercx's palmares if he doesn't do x, y, z". But I wonder how much Pogacar cares about that, especially at the moment when he seems to be feeling a bit down and burnt out. It must be quite exhausting to always be compared to someone else when, as Pogacar says, if he stopped now he would be happy with what he's achieved. His palmares is ridiculous.
The formulas are very very too complicated. To be fair as humans, Tadej might be in personal and professional circles were he sees happiness from family, maybe children, less travel, permanent residence that has some compromise to family connection.. Does he want to be in Spain, Monaco, France and make some compromise now and do something different post racing. And what is the hybrid? Can he turn down volume knob and still achieve goals or turn down current lifestyle intensity?
Will he still be able to win if he were to reduce training and racing schedule? He started with February and only he knows when 2025 will end but he sure sounds like he wants it to be now!
What does UAE think? What do they want for the money?
What are UAE's objectives? What is Tadej's trajectory? At 26 he certainly is not sounding like 35 is anything he is thinking about.. Him putting out there 2028 is troubling for UAE!!
He could break most records by 2028 if everything goes perfectly, it seldom does.. And with multiple crashes, Strade Bianchi, TDF,ect, unless he is a cat crashes result in days, months off the bike, it has been part of every other elite cyclists' life with the Pogacar being the odd man out, crashed multiple times and not even a significant DNF..
In my opinion, if UAE were smart they would start thinking about how Tadej fits into the organization to 40 and beyond!! If he is already feeling under the gun at 26 that is an alarm!!
What if Eddy's landmarks are not most important to Pogacar? What if he says, whatever I have achieved after 2028, that's good enough.
There is obviously a huge media problem because you say something when you are tired,emotional, and speak in generalities and it's a perpetual motion machine that will now cause Pogacar to constantly talk about possible 2028 retirement when he might not have meant that literally. Pog and many others confirm over and over use the teams media mechanism and don't do too much press, you think it's helping your brand but it often backfires!!
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wMTzifflmxk&pp=ygURdWFlIHRlYW0gZW1pcmF0ZXM%3D

4,5 videos in the series
 
Honestly next year he could take a "down" year while still making it a huge year :
- PR + TdF + WC + GdL

If he misses winning PR, winning the next 3 races (good chances he makes it) would still make it a great year. And if he ends up only winning TdF + GdL (almost guarantee) this would still be a very good year (5th TdF).
 
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Honestly next year he could take a "down" year while still making it a huge year :
- PR + TdF + WC + GdL

If he misses winning PR, winning the next 3 races (good chances he makes it) would still make it a great year. And if he ends up only winning TdF + GdL (almost guarantee) this would still be a very good year (5th TdF).
Vingegaard was awarded the Velo d'Or basically for winning the Tour. So winning the Tour being the fifth Tour would have more value.
Even if he doesn't win any more in 2026 and only wins the Tour, it would be considered a historic year.
He should also be able to match VDP at De Ronde and come within one of the record.
 
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Thinking about it my only issue with Pogi skipping the Tour is that whoever wins it, will by default have a better year than Pogi (in the public eye).
The Tour is basically the true World Championship of cycling in terms of prestige:/
You can be so dang good, everyone will rightfully believe he would have won it. So there is little to risk on any level by taking a year off. Lance won the dang thing 7 times and he isn't the historic metric Pogi is racing against.
 
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Another yellow icon...
 
If Pogacar says his big goal next year is to win P-R than he knows he can win it. After first RVV he said his goal is to win next year (he did it), than last year his goal was WC (he did it), this year again WC (we will see) and next year P-R. I just hope he wins this year WC double and Lombardia and in the future doesn't need to do schedule around those two races in fall.
 
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The problem with next wins in GTs is lack of the competition which brings us to bored and demotivated Pogi. In 2024 he has taken few steps forward while Vini staying in the same place or even decline a little bit. Pogi has won three last GTs without any real effort, having everything under control.

In classic he knows that one bad decison could cost the win and there is MVDP, the level between them is in my opionion much closer then gap between Vini and him in GT.
 
The problem with next wins in GTs is lack of the competition which brings us to bored and demotivated Pogi. In 2024 he has taken few steps forward while Vini staying in the same place or even decline a little bit. Pogi has won three last GTs without any real effort, having everything under control.

In classic he knows that one bad decison could cost the win and there is MVDP, the level between them is in my opionion much closer then gap between Vini and him in GT.

MVDP starts favourite in MSR and PR. Also there is Wout and other riders.

He knows he's better than Jonas is stage races - but has to race very hard to beat him and Visma - which leaves him spent for the Vuelta.
 
He can't skip the Tour the coming years, sponsor-wise, especially with his royal salary.
Maybe in 2028 with the Olympics, a Giro-Vuelta combination is possible.

Next year, I hope on a similar schedule as this year. Skip UAE Tour, main goal Roubaix, and also try to win the three Ardennes races, that's also a pretty special achievement.
 
If Pogacar says his big goal next year is to win P-R than he knows he can win it. After first RVV he said his goal is to win next year (he did it), than last year his goal was WC (he did it), this year again WC (we will see) and next year P-R. I just hope he wins this year WC double and Lombardia and in the future doesn't need to do schedule around those two races in fall.

The WC in 2026 and 2027 will suit him - he will continue to target WC until then. I don’t see an issue basing the last part of the season around the WC and Lombardia they are the biggest races. He will go to the Vuelta again (and Giro). But the Vuelta may have to wait until 2028
 
The WC in 2026 and 2027 will suit him - he will continue to target WC until then. I don’t see an issue basing the last part of the season around the WC and Lombardia they are the biggest races. He will go to the Vuelta again (and Giro). But the Vuelta may have to wait until 2028

Vuelta is the least fitting element in his schedule. He never raced it in his prime years (6 of them already) and it's not the first time he removed it from his initial schedule. It's not a coincidence of course. He's always at the lowest energy level after the Tour and not willing to take another GT. It seems only a very light spring schedule would enable him to tackle Tour + Vuelta double in great form.
 
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Oct 13, 2024
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If Pogacar says his big goal next year is to win P-R than he knows he can win it. After first RVV he said his goal is to win next year (he did it), than last year his goal was WC (he did it), this year again WC (we will see) and next year P-R. I just hope he wins this year WC double and Lombardia and in the future doesn't need to do schedule around those two races in fall.
I think it will remain very difficult for Pogacar to win PR and MSR. He can but many can and other riders remain more favorite for these races than Pogacar to me. Also the tactic for UAE on MSR is something not surprising anymore.

Besides that, when years pass he gets older and new rising stars appear such as Brennan and others.

I agree though if Pogacar wants to win those classics he will have to do it rather earlier than later.