Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Dekker_Tifosi]

That's just mean.

I was kidding. It was a reference to Tadej mocking Van Aert in stage 2 and 3

 

[meat puppet]

I was kidding. It was a reference to Tadej mocking Van Aert in stage 2 and 3

I knew you were and tried to play along.

 

[CyclistAbi]

it is, but that makes it more worrying. It wasn't a high altitude climb. It wasn't a long climb. It wasn't a particularly extreme stage. 3 things which were considered to be needed to drop Pogacar.

In fact, this was a Pogacar climb. Yet he got dropped hard. It's just all the more worrying. Vingegaard took another step this year imo.

Yeah but then again maybe this was peak Jonas. Having optimal preparation coming into the Tour. Likely a bit eager to prove he can drop Pogi. Pogi likely provoking them slightly in the past couple of days. Still it's early. Remember the Giro and on how favorites shifted tens of seconds. While people were claiming there was no GC action. And i doubt anybody expects there won't be any more GC action at this Tour edition.

 

[Extinction]

I would have to look into who said that, but wouldnt take those people very serious.

Maybe Pog just have more people, who are rooting for him. He is an entertaining rider, who can win many different type of races. Who has won many different type of races.

With said, I am not saying Vingegaard or someone else isnt entertaining. Today was a great show.

But that's just it, with diversification (Pog), you have a wide range, but when you come up against a monster in the mountains (Vingo), you lose. And as I've pointed out Pog's explosive ability comes at the sacrifice of pure climbing.

 

[ZebraSpots]

But yeah, Skeletor is becoming Baba Yaga in Teddy's almost perfect world.

If you're going to compare him to a Slavic folklore antagonist wouldn't Koschei the Deathless be more appropriate (if somewhat less well-known)?

 

[Salvarani]

But that's just it, with diversification (Pog), you have a wide range, but when you come up against a monster in the mountains (Vingo), you lose. And as I've pointed out Pog's explosive ability comes at the sacrifice of pure climbing.

Dont think that is so groundbreaking or that people have not been able to see that as well.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

If you're going to compare him to a Slavic folklore antagonist wouldn't Koschei the Deathless be more appropriate (if somewhat less well-known)?

Haha, yeah. I know him from Russian fairy tales.

 

[sam6]

Does anyone think Pogi is spreading himself too thin? It's great to see him in Sanremo and Flanders and his win in Flanders this year was amazing and probably the best race day of the season. But is it what's best for him? I think by trying to do everything he's made himself a worse climber which is probably what's most important. I know his injury is a major factor as well but I think if he properly made the Tour his priority rather than focusing on winning monuments that don't suit him he would be able to beat Vingegaard? Maybe also he would be able to race 2 grand tours a year that way, so he wouldn't have that much less opportunity for big wins. Would love to see him race the Vuelta this year whatever happens in the rest of the Tour

 

[Salvarani]

Does anyone think Pogi is spreading himself too thin? It's great to see him in Sanremo and Flanders and his win in Flanders this year was amazing and probably the best race day of the season. But is it what's best for him? I think by trying to do everything he's made himself a worse climber which is probably what's most important. I know his injury is a major factor as well but I think if he properly made the Tour his priority rather than focusing on winning monuments that don't suit him he would be able to beat Vingegaard? Maybe also he would be able to race 2 grand tours a year that way, so he wouldn't have that much less opportunity for big wins. Would love to see him race the Vuelta this year whatever happens in the rest of the Tour

Pog has always said he doesnt just want to win GTs. He wants to win and race a lot of different races.

For what its worth... he already has two Tour wins. He has time to add a Giro or Vuelta somewhere down the line, if he can/wants to. Will he be able to? Only time will tell.

Maybe he wont win +10 GTs in his career, but seems to me that he is not that bothered by it either. He will as many as he can and try to win as many other races as well.

 

[Extinction]

Does anyone think Pogi is spreading himself too thin? It's great to see him in Sanremo and Flanders and his win in Flanders this year was amazing and probably the best race day of the season. But is it what's best for him? I think by trying to do everything he's made himself a worse climber which is probably what's most important. I know his injury is a major factor as well but I think if he properly made the Tour his priority rather than focusing on winning monuments that don't suit him he would be able to beat Vingegaard? Maybe also he would be able to race 2 grand tours a year that way, so he wouldn't have that much less opportunity for big wins. Would love to see him race the Vuelta this year whatever happens in the rest of the Tour

Well, Cancellara said he thinks Pog is now a classics specialist.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Well, Cancellara said he thinks Pog is now a classics specialist.

Yes, Teddy is a classics legend, who can climb a bit as well.

 

[Red Rick]

First washed up rider to win the white jersey

Man keeps setting records

 

[theyoungest]

He's less than a minute behind Vingegaard, all is not lost. The forecast for tomorrow is rain, which theoretically should suit Pogi more than Vingegaard. And it makes the race more unpredictable, which is probably what Pogi has to hope for right now: a bit of chaos and a lack of control.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Tactically i would let JV tackle Jai. Then somewhere down the road let the team to tackle van Aert. For Jonas in need to initiate attack alone. Then to counter and go all in.

P.S. Knowing Pogi he will take yellow tomorrow if possible.

 

[DNP-Old]

P.S. Knowing Pogi he will take yellow tomorrow if possible.

...?

 

[sam6]

Pog has always said he doesnt just want to win GTs. He wants to win and race a lot of different races.

For what its worth... he already has two Tour wins. He has time to add a Giro or Vuelta somewhere down the line, if he can/wants to. Will he be able to? Only time will tell.

Maybe he wont win +10 GTs in his career, but seems to me that he is not that bothered by it either. He will as many as he can and try to win as many other races as well.

I think every rider would want to win more than just GTs if given the choice. The only problem is that it's very tough to win on all terrain and maybe Pogi is realizing he isn't as God-like as we first thought. At some point I think he should make a choice as to what to prioritize if he wants as many big wins as he can. He won Flanders but I think the vans would start above him on the favourites list for Flanders next year still. He's the best rider in the world but Vingegaard is the best GT rider and VdP is the best classics rider and that doesn't seem quite right

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

I agree but he is paying the price for being in the front constantly to snatch bonus points. Fans were critical of Jonas for not doing that as though he was a weaker wheelsucker. It all adds up and the inability to get out of the saddle to accelerate seems more like race fatigue rather than lack of form.

Clearly Pogacar is just exhausted after sprinting on the finish line on stage 1 and 2 while Jonas did not (bonus sprint at stage 2 doesn’t count, as Jonas sprinted for that as well).

We are already on the 5th stage of the tour and it was also a very hard stage yesterday, so clearly Pogacar is just competely spent and too tired to go with Jonas on the climbs.

 

[Valv.Piti]

...?

Stop trying to make sense of what he's saying and be happy that Roglic is not riding the Tour would be my advice.

 

[Pleney]

Was it too cold or too hot? Too steep or too shallow? Too long or too short? Too damp or too dry?
Perhaps someone is just better overall

 

[Salvarani]

I think every rider would want to win more than just GTs if given the choice. The only problem is that it's very tough to win on all terrain and maybe Pogi is realizing he isn't as God-like as we first thought. At some point I think he should make a choice as to what to prioritize if he wants as many big wins as he can. He won Flanders but I think the vans would start above him on the favourites list for Flanders next year still. He's the best rider in the world but Vingegaard is the best GT rider and VdP is the best classics rider and that doesn't seem quite right

Sure... but he has still beaten both of those on a few occasions.

Should he just give up or forfeit something out of the two? It is no given he will become that much better in the classics, that he will beat the others there easily or that he should just start focusing on the GTs and will now be able to beat everybody.

If anything... he should just keep doing what he does. Be the racer and entertainer that he is. Sometimes he will win big (like Flanders, his Tour wins and his other monument-wins) and sometimes he will get beaten by someone. Thats just something that is out of his control.

His palmares speaks for itself. He should just keep going and adding as many wins in big races for as long as he can. Maybe with other riders emerging or with age/decline he will have to make a decision, but not now.

 

[Extinction]

I think every rider would want to win more than just GTs if given the choice. The only problem is that it's very tough to win on all terrain and maybe Pogi is realizing he isn't as God-like as we first thought. At some point I think he should make a choice as to what to prioritize if he wants as many big wins as he can. He won Flanders but I think the vans would start above him on the favourites list for Flanders next year still. He's the best rider in the world but Vingegaard is the best GT rider and VdP is the best classics rider and that doesn't seem quite right

If you can win the Tour repeatedly, you are the strongest rider in the world. If some want to qualify best, then do so.

 

[CyclistAbi]

...?

You will have to be more verbose than that.

 

[RedheadDane]

So, next question: How much is he gonna win the white jersey by?
As things stand right now, there's a 16 seconds gap to Skjelmose and Rodriguez, a 56 second gap to Pidcock, and over 4 minutes to Gall. Everyone else is at least 16 minutes behind.
Last year, he won by almost an hour to Pidcock, but I suspect it might get a bit closer this year.

 

[Pleney]

Skeljmose could go second at this rate

 

[Netserk]

He won't win any stages this year.