Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

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It will be viewed that way by many but if he wins LBL then he would have 2 monuments, several classics, a big 1 week stage race win, stacks of stages plus other podiums and the first Ardennes triple in over 10 years.

Punishing him in verdict for his versatility would be unfair if it is downgrade for not also winning the tour.

I know it would be one of the greatest seasons of all time, but THE single best season of all time it would not be.
 
I know it would be one of the greatest seasons of all time, but THE single best season of all time it would not be.
It’s unlikely we’ll ever see a season that can truly beat the top Merckx seasons. Not based on raw wins. It would have to be based on strength of the field being higher now which is impossible to quantify and rate objectively. These conversations are fun but don’t go anywhere.
 
It’s unlikely we’ll ever see a season that can truly beat the top Merckx seasons. Not based on raw wins. It would have to be based on strength of the field being higher now which is impossible to quantify and rate objectively. These conversations are fun but don’t go anywhere.

Certainly, but Pogacar actually has a chance this year if he continues like he started and can overcome the Vingegaard challenge.
 
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Certainly, but Pogacar actually has a chance this year if he continues like he started and can overcome the Vingegaard challenge.
I don’t think it can happen without a double, specifically Giro Tour. At least it wouldn’t be clear cut enough to be without debate. He can max out at 5 big wins this year and would need 6 to beat 2 GTs and 3 monuments (1972). I do think Giro Tour is worth more than 2 of any single day race. His smaller wins are impressive but in the grand scheme don’t carry the weight of the big wins.
 
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I don’t think it can happen without a double, specifically Giro Tour. At least it wouldn’t be clear cut enough to be without debate. He can max out at 5 big wins this year and would need 6 to beat 2 GTs and 3 monuments (1972). I do think Giro Tour is worth more than 2 of any single day race. His smaller wins are impressive but in the grand scheme don’t carry the weight of the big wins.

What if he wins Liège, Tour, Worlds, Vuelta?

I doubt he will ride Vuelta, though, and don't think it's realistic to win those four races.
 
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I am also not a fan in general of comparing riders of different ages, but to me if Pogacar would win LBL and the Tour this year that would be the greatest season of all time. Merckx won his races against riders from Belgium, Italy and France basically, in a world without real scouting of talents where only a minority of riders was able to persue their sports careers professionally.
However, let's see those two races this year first.
 
I don't think Pogacar will actually win LBL, because of Evenepoel being better and Pogacar's form dropping, but regardless of that his spring season is the best I've seen since I started watching cycling. I don't care about comparisons to pre-95's, since I never watched any of those races. Remarkable season already, and pretty sure he's going to win the Tour this year too.
 
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It will be more difficult for Pogacar to win in Liege than the other 2 races, IMHO. But I think he can do it but he has to ride defensively. He doesn't have to be aggressive knowing that he has the best sprint of the non-sprinters. They might test how good Remco is with a random attack because it is still a bit unknown. But I think he is the favorite based on his freshness.
I'll be rooting for Pogacar this Sunday just because we are about to witness greatness during my lifetime and I don't want to miss it.
 
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I don't think Pogacar will actually win LBL, because of Evenepoel being better and Pogacar's form dropping, but regardless of that his spring season is the best I've seen since I started watching cycling. I don't care about comparisons to pre-95's, since I never watched any of those races. Remarkable season already, and pretty sure he's going to win the Tour this year too.

That's a nice way to respect history...
 
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It will be more difficult for Pogacar to win in Liege than the other 2 races, IMHO. But I think he can do it but he has to ride defensively. He doesn't have to be aggressive knowing that he has the best sprint of the non-sprinters. They might test how good Remco is with a random attack because it is still a bit unknown. But I think he is the favorite based on his freshness.
I'll be rooting for Pogacar this Sunday just because we are about to witness greatness during my lifetime and I don't want to miss it.

Depends on how he feels on that day. If he feels great he will try to drop everybody and kill the remants (if any) in a sprint. Otherwise he'll need to follow right wheels to finish in the front group (and try to win from it).
 
It’s unlikely we’ll ever see a season that can truly beat the top Merckx seasons. Not based on raw wins. It would have to be based on strength of the field being higher now which is impossible to quantify and rate objectively. These conversations are fun but don’t go anywhere.

True, but I have no doubt Pogacar is a better rider "pound for pound", as the faces much better opposition, and not least much better teams than Merckx did.
 
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I don't know what's interesting about putting Merckx into this conversation. You'd be insisting on comparing to impossible standards, which is in uninteresting, against a field that was magnitudes less professional and specialized than it is now, which is uninteresting.
 
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