Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[canina82]

These early conclusions. Why not just wait for the TdF to see his climbing level?

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

From what he said the other day, it doesn't seem like he'll be coming back in 2027 even though he lost.

It makes sense; this race is very demanding for him, and he's sacrificing too many days of competition. The team will expect him to win more Grand Tours.

 

[Bratone]

No its more how he looks compared to others, he looked human today in way I haven't seen since Vingegard beat him in the high mountains

Vingegaard looks better than ever compared to the last 3 years and Pogacar weakest, all the people who are 101% sure Pog will easily win TDF in July will have a big reality check I'm afraid.

 

[Bombarolo]

The meltdowns in this thread are hilarious.
This is significantly more difficult than San Remo to win for Pogacar, because there is almost no uphill sections and he is much smaller than everyone else. He is not going to drop everyone and finish alone and he has 0 chances in a sprint against Pedersen, VdP or Wva. He needs insane amount of luck to win this race.

Last year VdP was massively better than Pogacar as well. He was controlling easily and would have destroyed him in the sprint.

Also, it was clear already these last few weeks that this is the best Wva ever in the flat.

Lastly i don’t think UAE strategy is the correct one. In this race Pogacar is using too much energy, so the insanely high pace is probably not their best option.

 

[Rou]

I will wait until Romandie where there is a monster climb.
If Pog's numbers are nothing special I will be worried.

 

[Monsi]

100% and it very clearly started from Strade where he had to dig super deep to drop Seixas and only one by 1 minute, last year the gap was bigger even though he dropped Pidcock at like half the distance.
In MSR the gap to the peleton was 4 seconds, again, much smaller than last year.
In Ronde he only took 6 seconds of MVDP on the 3rd Kwaremont and was visibly struggling, won by 30 seconds which again is half the gap of last year when 5 people were pulling behind him.
As I said, you can say whatever you want but he is clearly weaker than last year.

Comparing time gaps is not the way to compare which version of any rider is stronger, especially when there are different conditions in each year.

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

Please don't play the victim like Wout's fans in the other thread; it was unbearable.

This guy is still a favorite for TDF.
People are so dramatic.

 

[jotafap]

I also hope that, but the point is that everybody was saying that he got stronger this year, citing climbing times and watts, also Gorka Prieto said he got significantly stronger but imo in the races so far this year he was a bit stronger in MSR and strade bianche, at a similar level in flanders and in paris roubaix he actually looked stronger last year.

It's just so subjective man, the race was harder this year and he had muuuuch worse luck, and spent more bullets than he wanted earlier.

Comparing directly the 2 editions and conclude he was weaker is just too hard to assess.

 

[Lorzenz08]

No its more how he looks compared to others, he looked human today in way I haven't seen since Vingegard beat him in the high mountains

He just had to change 3 times of bike while average race speed was 50kmh, burned too many matches

 

[No Excuses]

He did all he can. He will be back strong on more suitable terrain.

 

[MariaB]

Meltdown here is sad and hilarious to see at the same time.

Pogi was a monster, did a fantastic race, got 2nd again in his 2nd trial.

He has won 4 Monuments in a row.

Come on now.

So much drama.

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

You could say whatever you want and post any random numbers you see on the internet but Pogacar is clearly weaker compared to last year, that was visible in all the races this year, and will be proven again in LBL and TDF. The eye test never lies.

Well, judging by the Paris-Roubaix thread, nobody thought so. Have you read the messages they've written?

 

[Rackham]

The meltdowns in this thread are hilarious.
This is significantly more difficult than San Remo to win for Pogacar, because there is almost no uphill sections and he is much smaller than everyone else. He is not going to drop everyone and finish alone and he has 0 chances in a sprint against Pedersen, VdP or Wva.

Last year VdP was massively better than Pogacar as well. He was controlling easily and would have destroyed him in the sprint.

Also, it was clear already these last few weeks that this is the best Wva ever in the flat.

Calls out "Hilarious meltdowns"... then proceeds to make exaggerated claims to make the defeat seem better. Okay.

Personally I think WvA was very good but not a step above his usual best self. He was 'just' at his best. Nothing more, nothing less. You need merely see the gaps to the group behind and how this was a much, much more closely contested Roubaix than the prior two editions were.

Last year Pog surprised quite a few by looking so comfortable in gapping everyone who wasn't VdP on the cobbles. I didn't get that same impression of power this time.

 

[Skalman]

Please don't play the victim like Wout's fans in the other thread; it was unbearable.

This guy is still a favorite for TDF.
People are so dramatic.

Of course he is ,anything else would be ridiculous, but that he is actually still weaker than last years is a very real possibility and should not cause drama, after all we are all victims to age and motivation.

 

[fenns]

If Pog outsprints Wout in those conditions he's not going to win the Tour just 3 months later. Can't have both.

 

[Rou]

Meltdown here is sad and hilarious to see at the same time.

Pogi was a monster, did a fantastic race, got 2nd again in his 2nd trial.

He has won 4 Monuments in a row.

Come on now.

So much drama.

He was average for his level. Let's be real. In no time in the race did he threaten a washed Van Aert. In every major sector MVDP was reducing the gap after closing more than 2 mins.
This was an underperformance by Pogacar's standarts.
Maybe he will bounce back even stronger but facts are facts.

 

[Bombarolo]

Yeah i think this could be the last time at Roubaix for Pogacar, at least in the upcoming years. I think he realized he has almost 0 chances despite finishing P2 twice.

 

[Revelation]

Vingegaard looks better than ever compared to the last 3 years and Pogacar weakest, all the people who are 101% sure Pog will easily win TDF in July will have a big reality check I'm afraid.

Pogacar will destroy Vingo at TDF again with 5+ stage wins.

 

[Monsi]

Last year Pog surprised quite a few by looking so comfortable in gapping everyone who wasn't VdP on the cobbles. I didn't get that same impression of power this time.

I guess that's what happens when last year, he had a pretty flawless race until his crash (apart from his mini bonk which required a pickle juice) and then this year, he had to spend two bullets chasing because of mechanicals.

 

[Bratone]

I swear that watching Pogacar pre-Combloux TT in TDF last year vs after the Combloux seems like watching 2 different riders. Even thought the gap might be only 3-5% in terms of performance, it really feels that the 2026 TDF really took something out of him that he may never get back.

 

[Revelation]

Calls out "Hilarious meltdowns"... then proceeds to make exaggerated claims to make the defeat seem better. Okay.

Personally I think WvA was very good but not a step above his usual best self. He was 'just' at his best. Nothing more, nothing less. You need merely see the gaps to the group behind and how this was a much, much more closely contested Roubaix than the prior two editions were.

Last year Pog surprised quite a few by looking so comfortable in gapping everyone who wasn't VdP on the cobbles. I didn't get that same impression of power this time.

Yet he was clearly stronger than last year at Flanders, a race that actually has climbs.

 

[MariaB]

He was average for his level. Let's be real. In no time in the race did he threaten a washed Van Aert. In every major sector MVDP was reducing the gap after closing more than 2 mins.
This was an underperformance by Pogacar's standarts.
Maybe he will bounce back even stronger but facts are facts.

Facts? Which facts?

Your opinion and point of view don't turn anything into a fact.

He crashed and won MSR. Won RVV. Also won Strade.
He has won 4 Monuments in a row.

But now, forced to chase after a mechanical, tired in the end, he is weaker.

Ok, it's your opinion, but a fact? Not true.

Let's be classy, Wout was the better rider today. Nobody wins every race.

 

[jotafap]

I swear that watching Pogacar pre-Combloux TT in TDF last year vs after the Combloux seems like watching 2 different riders. Even thought the gap might be only 3-5% in terms of performance, it really feels that the 2025 TDF really took something out of him that he may never get back.

He won everything since but today? What are we talking about?

 

[Monsi]

I swear that watching Pogacar pre-Combloux TT in TDF last year vs after the Combloux seems like watching 2 different riders. Even thought the gap might be only 3-5% in terms of performance, it really feels that the 2026 TDF really took something out of him that he may never get back.

Definitely takes something out of you when you have knee issues and a bit of sickness then once he recovered post-TDF, he destroyed everyone in the Worlds RR, EC RR, and Lombardia.

 

[TheKidsCallMeBoss]

The sprint is his only chance of winning here. With those fat tyres and short cranks, he didn't give himself any chance.