Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[Lorzenz08]

bonking

think this will wake up the beast inside him for next year.
but vingegaard attacking now would make the guy even madder. welcome to the dark side pogacar

This should already have been the case last year when Vinge and Roglic took turn attacking him.

 

[lenric]

This should already have been the case last year when Vinge and Roglic took turn attacking him.

yeah, well, then the shitshow of yesterday happened

 

[lenric]

dude was really dead

 

[Screecher]

He should have enough of a buffer to finish 2nd and win a 4th white jersey. There was no beating Vingegaard regardless so it's not such a disaster.

 

[bob.a.feet]

Not so fun fact: the last Tour winner to reclaim their crown after being beaten (not counting DNFs) was Hinault. I think it's interesting that in the modern era a rider usually either wins once or dominates, and once their reign is interrupted they never win again.

I wonder if Pogacar will be the one to break this cycle. A rider as talented as him can surely bounce back and will continue to dominate races throughout the year. However, history has shown that, as far as the Tour goes, what happened this year is not a setback but rather an end. Personally, I hope not.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

That was terrible. Hopefully it's nothing seriously bad (regarding the crash, illness or whatever). He's still in a good position for the 2nd place (if he cares OFC). The race was already an uphill battle before today and he had a monstrous advantage over the rest so the day has no direct sporting consequences, only mental. Hopefully he recovers from it well.

 

[Screecher]

That was terrible. Hopefully it's nothing seriously bad (regarding the crash, illness or whatever). He's still in a good position for the 2nd place (if he cares OFC). The race was already an uphill battle before today and he had a monstrous advantage over the rest so the day has no direct sporting consequences, only mental. Hopefully he recovers from it well.

This was probably the worst day to have a bad day, everyone was struggling out there, Rodriguez finished "only" 2 and a half minutes ahead of Pogi. Vingegaard looked spent up the final ramp as well.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

I heard german commentators talking a lot about potential herpes blisters on his lip. I’ve been struggling with that for the last 15 years or so, it comes and goes maybe 5-6 times per year and every time I kind of feel like my body is slightly reduced and my energy levels is not on top for two or three days. Of course these things are very individual and there is no reason to expect Pogacar reacts the same way as I do (he’s a sporting legend, I’m a leisure runner), and I think it’s probably more reasonable to connect todays collapse mostly to the early crash.

 

[Miha81]

I heard german commentators talking a lot about potential herpes blisters on his lip. I’ve been struggling with that for the last 15 years or so, it comes and goes maybe 5-6 times per year and every time I kind of feel like my body is slightly reduced and my energy levels is not on top for two or three days. Of course these things are very individual and there is no reason to expect Pogacar reacts the same way as I do (he’s a sporting legend, I’m a leisure runner), and I think it’s probably more reasonable to connect todays collapse mostly to the early crash.

I have this and get it only once per year or couple of years. Once I get it I know I am about to get bad case of cold or other type of disease because of reduced immune system.

I noticed it yesterday at the start of ITT but was not sure if it is new or I just was not paying attention.

 

[Unchained]

He had a bad day for sure, but for anyone who has ever raced uphill and lost contact.. It's very very difficult to sit down, settle down and do an uphill time trial and keep the damage to a minimum. Which he did, not a great ride by any measure, but certainly not a bad one.

 

[HelloDolly]

I too get cold sores when my immune system is shot

As for Pogacar going forward I hope he doesn't lose his swagger , the joie to vivre he brings to cycling. Being beaten can be devastating esp by someone who is used to wining. But he has a great personality and racing style

Next Year with better preparation he can bounce back
I'll be shouting for him anyway

 

[lenric]

now is a test to his mindset.

 

[Poursuivant]

Besides his fall in LBL, I wonder what the impact is of having ridden such a densely pact classics season. I have a feeling he'll ride way less classics next season with the idea to completely focus on the TDF, like Jumbo did.

Possibly, and that would be a bad thing for the sport unfortunately.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Considering Pogi cracked hard on stage 17 and Jonas gained 7 minutes on him in this two crucial stages. This Tour edition is indeed likely decided.

If Pogi would try again, last hurrah, then likely on stage 20 for a reduced bunch to get beneath the penultimate climb. But it's hard to imagine Jonas would crack in such way he would lost 7 minutes.

All in all i feel that what made the difference is Jonas gaining 10 minutes on everybody. And it's not yet over. This is just something that will need to be taken into consideration. For next Tour editions.

Some of that can be achieved by sacrificing classics, some by optimally preparing for the Tour. Weight. Racing style. Team.

Still 10 minutes is a lot. For modern cycling standards likely too much. And considering Pogi was ahead in ITT in regards to the rest of the field. And Jonas still gained a minute and a half. All this is just a bit unrealistic.

All in all it will be interesting to see on how things will evolve. Two seasons back Pogi was set to win at least 5 Tour editions in a row. Now Jonas is in such position. Somehow i doubt any of them will win the next 5 editions. So it will be interesting to see on how things will evolve in the future.

 

[Poursuivant]

Not so fun fact: the last Tour winner to reclaim their crown after being beaten (not counting DNFs) was Hinault. I think it's interesting that in the modern era a rider usually either wins once or dominates, and once their reign is interrupted they never win again.

I wonder if Pogacar will be the one to break this cycle. A rider as talented as him can surely bounce back and will continue to dominate races throughout the year. However, history has shown that, as far as the Tour goes, what happened this year is not a setback but rather an end. Personally, I hope not.

Very interesting fact. I think he will win at least one more TDF , it’s easy to forget how young he is.

 

[Salvarani]

Time for Giro!

 

[nightowl]

Time to take his frustrations out on Wout in the classics again

 

[nightowl]

Very interesting fact. I think he will win at least one more TDF , it’s easy to forget how young he is.

He does seem to be able to bounce back very well mentally from big setbacks, so I’m sure he’ll keep throwing everything at the Tour - and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t work for him at least once more

 

[Red Rick]

Not really inclined to blame the classics. I think the crash in Liege hampered his prep a little too much in combination with getting sick.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Not really inclined to blame the classics. I think the crash in Liege hampered his prep a little too much in combination with getting sick.

He needed to peak for it and got injured during. So it's a factor.

Said that Pogi was ahead of everybody rest bar Jonas by a rather hefty margin. What is a new reality is now the requirement to win the Tour went from finding that 2 minutes to Pogi to finding that 10 minutes to Jonas. That is if this level is sustainable on the long run. We'll see.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Not really inclined to blame the classics. I think the crash in Liege hampered his prep a little too much in combination with getting sick.

Yeah, Pogacar stayed with Vinge very well for 2 weeks but something is missing now.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Yeah, Pogacar stayed with Vinge very well for 2 weeks but something is missing now.

Is something really missing or was the bar just set higher?

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Is something really missing or was the bar just set higher?

Vinge's level yesterday was absurd, probably approaching 6.9 w/kg for 20 minutes. Even absolutely the best version of Pog would've lost by a few dozen of seconds methinks. Today it was sth else and it was maybe associated with not enough preparation for a 3-week race. Freshness helped him for 2 weeks but not anymore.

 

[meat puppet]

Is he sick? I expected him to crack, but not this badly.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Vinge's level yesterday was absurd, probably approaching 6.9 w/kg for 20 minutes. Even absolutely the best version of Pog would've lost by a few dozen of seconds methinks. Today it was sth else and it was maybe associated with not enough preparation for a 3-week race. Freshness helped him for 2 weeks but not anymore.

Exactly. Pogi was in good position to take yellow yesterday. He did what was normally needed to be done. And Jonas finished a minute and a half ahead. The bar is now set extremely high. Even for Pogi. And especially if this is sustainable on the long run.