Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[CyclistAbi]

If this wouldn't be Pogi we were talking about i would see no chance. Still he will try. The biggest problem i see is Jonas has too big of an advantage. To crack like that that would really be something.

 

[Cookster15]

I prefer to see Pog take this than Vingo but after the first Pyrenean stage I am not optimistic on Pog’s chances. On one hand he keeps trying but he is still two minutes down, Vingegaard is no Thomas Voeckler and hasn’t looked troubled responding to every attack. But the 3rd week can break the elastic so it’s not over yet.

 

[Oldermanish]

I prefer to see Pog take this than Vingo but after the first Pyrenean stage I am not optimistic on Pog’s chances. On one hand he keeps trying but he is still two minutes down, Vingegaard is no Thomas Voeckler and hasn’t looked troubled responding to every attack. But the 3rd week can break the elastic so it’s not over yet.

This tour has been affected by mishaps as much as performance to a great degree. The mishaps have taken away the Main Contenders' buffer for minor disaster to where almost any mechanical or slight crash could mean time. We're in the Pyrenees so the roads are less navigable, particularly for support. Vingo just needs to remember to crash on top of the softest part of Pogacar and get up first.

 

[Tinnekeisabella]

This tour has been affected by mishaps as much as performance to a great degree. The mishaps have taken away the Main Contenders' buffer for minor disaster to where almost any mechanical or slight crash could mean time. We're in the Pyrenees so the roads are less navigable, particularly for support. Vingo just needs to remember to crash on top of the softest part of Pogacar and get up first.

I know see Jonas fall on Pogi and bounce up like falling on a trampoline

 

[Miha81]

Majka out. He is basically without team now.

 

[Red Rick]

Majka out. He is basically without team now.

Maybe McNulty can catch him if he falls off the mountain while going uphill.

I wonder what drove UAE to not bring the B team to the Tour and I'm actually wondering if it was arrogance.

 

[Miha81]

Maybe McNulty can catch him if he falls off the mountain while going uphill.

I wonder what drove UAE to not bring the B team to the Tour and I'm actually wondering if it was arrogance.

I don't know but I am starting to think that they realized in first week that this team is rubbish and all attacking for extra seconds and small gaps was not entirely Pogi's idea.

They got away with it in 2020 when he was not primary focus of the oposition and he basically single handedly won 2021 TDF edition so I guess they thought TDF is a drive in a park with one explosive day

 

[Tinnekeisabella]

Majka out. He is basically without team now.

Well no offense, Majka and Mcnulty have done their best but What team did they have? What help did they offer?

Ok they had bad luck but Tadej lost the tour because his team is a disaster.

they have so much money….

 

[Miha81]

Well no offense, Majka and Mcnulty have done their best but What team did they have? What help did they offer?

Ok they had bad luck but Tadej lost the tour because his team is a disaster.

they have so much money….

They saved some. Pogi will probably get less endorsements if he doesn't win TDF. Rebuilding mode on because TJV and even Ineos are miles ahead in team strenght department.

Despite having high belief in Pogi's individual strenght I think his TDF win is gone with the wind.

 

[ppanther92]

Well no offense, Majka and Mcnulty have done their best but What team did they have? What help did they offer?

Exactly. Majka actually positively surprised me and still when everyone was more or less well, Roglic, Kruijswijk and Kuss climbed better than him from JV.

Pogacar has to sit down with the team after this disaster and have a talk. I think he is perfectly in the position of demanding something like "guys, give me a useful team, or I will leave". Because its the 3rd year now they are providing a potential winner with a beyond awful support squad, while being a large budget team.

 

[Red Rick]

I don't know but I am starting to think that they realized in first week that this team is rubbish and all attacking for extra seconds and small gaps was not entirely Pogi's idea.

They got away with it in 2020 when he was not primary focus of the oposition and he basically single handedly won 2021 TDF edition so I guess they thought TDF is a drive in a park with one explosive day

They saved some. Pogi will probably get less endorsements if he doesn't win TDF. Rebuilding mode on because TJV and even Ineos are miles ahead in team strenght department.

Despite having high belief in Pogi's individual strenght I think his TDF win is gone with the wind.

I don't think they ever had great recruitment. They just hit the jackpot with Pogacar and only then started to think about building a team around him for the long term. And even then they've been trying to get new superstars while not getting the very best domestiques.

Majka is a good signing
George Bennett didn't make the Jumbo Tour squad anymore
Marc Soler is a decent guy for the medium mountains but usually not good enough in the high mountains
Their flat domestiques are barely WT level riders.

Jumbo have been building a cohesive team for a while. While they have hit the jackpot with Rog, WvA and Vingegaard, the recruitment around that is really solid. Kuss is the best in the world at his specific role. Laporte and Van Hooydonck are trucks on the flat. And that's not even including Rohan Dennis who is one of the most versatile domestiques in the peloton.

Then there's race selection. Jumbo throw their entire GC team at the Tour, then they double most of them up for the Vuelta. Then in the Giro they sort of throw their hail mary's but their attitude there is flexible enough so that they can instantly switch gears to go for stage wins as well.

 

[Extinction]

Sure, but you can't blame the team for Covid, mechanicals, etc., it's like the stars that aligned perfectly in 2020 are now in nefarious conjunction to ruin his chances.

 

[Tinnekeisabella]

Yeah but even without covid and mechanicals his team has proven extremely weak. Point. While they have riders like Almeida preparing quietly for the Vuelta.

Even a guy as Formolo has always been proven extremely loyal and hardworking on his level.

they have guys as Ulissi and Covi. Maybe even an Ayuso?

Ackermann as a signing was completely ridiculous too to be honest.

 

[Lorzenz08]

They saved some. Pogi will probably get less endorsements if he doesn't win TDF. Rebuilding mode on because TJV and even Ineos are miles ahead in team strenght department.

Despite having high belief in Pogi's individual strenght I think his TDF win is gone with the wind.

I think so as well.
At this point I'm just hoping he will put on a show just for entertainment without any expectation.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I'm annoyed. He lost so much time in stage 11... Vingegaard is lucky because he has a better team and Roglic. I'm pretty sure Vingegaard couldn't drop Tadej anywhere

 

[QueenStagiaire]

He‘s met his GT stage win quota of 3

 

[Valanga]

I'm annoyed. He lost so much time in stage 11... Vingegaard is lucky because he has a better team and Roglic. I'm pretty sure Vingegaard couldn't drop Tadej anywhere

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that...

We can be pretty sure it was on the limit for Tadej. For Vingegaard there was no need to test his limit.

 

[Oldermanish]

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that...

We can be pretty sure it was on the limit for Tadej. For Vingegaard there was no need to test his limit.

Today's stage proved your point. Jonas didn't need to do anything except maybe win the sprint. That was a brain fart attack in the last meters to setup Pogi.

 

[SafeBet]

At this point you have to assume Vingo is simply the better climber. UAE was incredible today but he never flinched.

 

[Miha81]

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that...

We can be pretty sure it was on the limit for Tadej. For Vingegaard there was no need to test his limit.

He counterattacked and failed. I think both were on a limit in the last kilometer. We will see how the stage 18 will pan out.

Great performance by what remained of UAE team.

 

[Extinction]

Last chance for Pogi tomorrow, but with this Vingegaard his chances of an upset look pretty slim.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Last chance for Pogi tomorrow, but with this Vingegaard his chances of an upset look pretty slim.

Especially when Vingegaard said today the pace on the final climb was weak. Meanwhile Pogi looked spent on the finish

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He counterattacked and failed. I think both were on a limit in the last kilometer. We will see how the stage 18 will pan out.

Great performance by what remained of UAE team.

the limit of his explosivity yes. The absolute limit nowhere near

 

[roundabout]

Especially when Vingegaard said today the pace on the final climb was weak. Meanwhile Pogi looked spent on the finish

It's either boasting or some next level risk aversion.

Neither is a good look.

 

[Extinction]

Especially when Vingegaard said today the pace on the final climb was weak. Meanwhile Pogi looked spent on the finish

Well it's possible Vingegaard can have a sans jour, however, the real problem was Pogacar messed it up on the Galibier-Glandon stage. That will go down as a debacle of his career.