Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

[hayneplane]

Here's a fun little detail; take a look at his GT success.





Whatever GT he does next, people better keep an eye on him on stages 9 and 20!

Well it makes sense as day 9 is the longest period in a Grand Tour of consecutive stages so given what we are finding out of how outstanding his 3 week endurance seems to be it seems logical that he would be right up amongst the strongest at the end of each block of action.

 

[RedheadDane]

No Vuelta for him this year apparently

Having a 22-year-old ride two GTs in one (compressed) season would probably be a bit much.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Having a 22-year-old ride two GTs in one (compressed) season would probably be a bit much.

Especially with how his life just changed substantially.

 

[lecko]

Reading some interviews and found 2 short, but completely opposite things TP said before saturday.

First one, for cycling news interview, that was for public: "
“Before the time trial, I thought I was going to finish second and I was happy with that result and the best young rider jersey. The night before, in the parking lot, I’d watched the mechanics prepare a special white bike for me to arrive on the Champs-Élysées.

I think the secret of my success is that I started without believing for a single moment that I could win. I was free spirit, I didn’t even have a power meter."

Second one, rtvlo.si, but here Colnago reported what TP sait to him in private:
"When I prepared bike for satuday`s TT, Tadej said to me: "If I go as fast as I think I will go, I wil make you happy and then you will have more work, you will have to change the colour"

Pretihotapili so se v Pariz z rumeno, a to je bilo po načrtu

Ko so se emirati prvi petek Toura 2020 izgubili v vetru, je šefe ekipe UAE Emirates zaskrbelo, da bodo ostali brez načrtovane uvrstitve v prvo peterico, a ker je najbolj miren od vseh ostal ravno Tadej Pogačar, so ohranili vero in na koncu zmagali.

www.rtvslo.si

On first look quite innocent, but maybe not. He almost guaranteed to Colnago, that he will beat his "friend" Roglič for a minute, How did he knew ?

 

[ppanther92]

Here's a fun little detail; take a look at his GT success.

Whatever GT he does next, people better keep an eye on him on stages 9 and 20!

Stage 9 is usually the stage before rest day 1, stage 20 is, well, stage 20 - indicates indeed a totally outstanding recovery.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Reading some interviews and found 2 short, but completely opposite things TP said before saturday.

First one, for cycling news interview, that was for public: "
“Before the time trial, I thought I was going to finish second and I was happy with that result and the best young rider jersey. The night before, in the parking lot, I’d watched the mechanics prepare a special white bike for me to arrive on the Champs-Élysées.

I think the secret of my success is that I started without believing for a single moment that I could win. I was free spirit, I didn’t even have a power meter."

Second one, rtvlo.si, but here Colnago reported what TP sait to him in private:
"When I prepared bike for satuday`s TT, Tadej said to me: "If I go as fast as I think I will go, I wil make you happy and then you will have more work, you will have to change the colour"

Pretihotapili so se v Pariz z rumeno, a to je bilo po načrtu

Ko so se emirati prvi petek Toura 2020 izgubili v vetru, je šefe ekipe UAE Emirates zaskrbelo, da bodo ostali brez načrtovane uvrstitve v prvo peterico, a ker je najbolj miren od vseh ostal ravno Tadej Pogačar, so ohranili vero in na koncu zmagali.

www.rtvslo.si

On first look quite innocent, but maybe not. He almost guaranteed to Colnago, that he will beat his "friend" Roglič for a minute, How did he knew ?

Maybe he was just trying to stay humble instead of blowing his horn.

 

[lecko]

Maybe he was just trying to stay humble instead of blowing his horn.

yeah, could be. Till about 17 or 18th stage it was alway in interviews "I want yellow". Then maybe PR department requested to tone it down (because od Roglic popularity, also good tactical move to pretend he will only defend) and then for 2 stage it was only "I am satisfied with second".

 

[SHAD0W93]

yeah, could be. Till about 17 or 18th stage it was alway in interviews "I want yellow". Then maybe PR department requested to tone it down (because od Roglic popularity, also good tactical move to pretend he will only defend) and then for 2 stage it was only "I am satisfied with second".

For stuff like that I don't blame him with how close he was to actually wearing yellow before the timetrial. Than the last part just giving a false sense of security to JV and Roglic that they had the win in the bag. That 17 or 18 stage could be when he decided to go all in on the timetrial, something JV and Roglic would not suspect and made them complacent. If he had said he was still racing for first before the timetrial they could have had more warning than before they saw how fast Pogacar was going. Hearing how fast he was going had to have taken a beating on Roglic mentally and cause him and JV to panic more. Who knows what Roglic was hearing in his ear.

 

[hayneplane]

I just see a strong element of self belief and confidence that comes from knowing through his numbers what he is capable of. Nothing there seemed arrogant or boastful.

 

[42x16ss]

Watts the point? Also; not like power output couldn't be calculated after the fact and his follow car would be advising on speed anyway. One advantage of being the rider in front of the leader in a TT-you can convince them of your pace while holding back. If Primoz had to work hard to only lose 25 seconds on the flat he was totally screwed by the time he got to the hill. Tadej's out of the saddle climb clearly was an all-in effort he'd practiced well if UAE tacticians are believable.
Pure speculation on my part.

Allan Peiper has confirmed that they reconned the TT course 3-4 times before the TDF. They were happy enough to not worry about previewing the course on the morning of the TT like others.

 

[42x16ss]

No Vuelta for him this year apparently

Good. At the end of the day he's still a 22yo 2nd year pro.

 

[gunara]

Reading some interviews and found 2 short, but completely opposite things TP said before saturday.

First one, for cycling news interview, that was for public: "
“Before the time trial, I thought I was going to finish second and I was happy with that result and the best young rider jersey. The night before, in the parking lot, I’d watched the mechanics prepare a special white bike for me to arrive on the Champs-Élysées.

I think the secret of my success is that I started without believing for a single moment that I could win. I was free spirit, I didn’t even have a power meter."

Second one, rtvlo.si, but here Colnago reported what TP sait to him in private:
"When I prepared bike for satuday`s TT, Tadej said to me: "If I go as fast as I think I will go, I wil make you happy and then you will have more work, you will have to change the colour"

Pretihotapili so se v Pariz z rumeno, a to je bilo po načrtu

Ko so se emirati prvi petek Toura 2020 izgubili v vetru, je šefe ekipe UAE Emirates zaskrbelo, da bodo ostali brez načrtovane uvrstitve v prvo peterico, a ker je najbolj miren od vseh ostal ravno Tadej Pogačar, so ohranili vero in na koncu zmagali.

www.rtvslo.si

On first look quite innocent, but maybe not. He almost guaranteed to Colnago, that he will beat his "friend" Roglič for a minute, How did he knew ?

It's easier to conclude with only the first interview, he sounded and thought like one of us.
Second statement could be anything. A joke, self promotion, lie, extreme confidence, complete knowledge of himself and Roglič, anything.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Allan Peiper has confirmed that they reconned the TT course 3-4 times before the TDF. They were happy enough to not worry about previewing the course on the morning of the TT like others.

I thought the reason to preview the course in the morning of the stage is to jog ur memory about the recon that u did a month back and also to get a inkling of the conditions on raceday like wind, temperature, road condition etc. or maybe in addition to being the best TTist and climber, now he also has a photographic memory and is an analytical genius as well.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I thought the reason to preview the course in the morning of the stage is to jog ur memory about the recon that u did a month back and also to get a inkling of the conditions on raceday like wind, temperature, road condition etc. or maybe in addition to being the best TTist and climber, now he also has a photographic memory and is an analytical genius as well.

At least he didn't pull an Ullrich.
Sounds like he put the work in before than relied on his team that went ahead of him to relay the weather information.

 

[42x16ss]

I thought the reason to preview the course in the morning of the stage is to jog ur memory about the recon that u did a month back and also to get a inkling of the conditions on raceday like wind, temperature, road condition etc. or maybe in addition to being the best TTist and climber, now he also has a photographic memory and is an analytical genius as well.

He didn't ride it on the day at least. They may have driven it though. Peiper also said that their recon rides included planning and practicing the bike change FWIW.

Maybe they felt not wasting effort was more important by stage 20? It's not like it was a prologue.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Here's a fun little detail; take a look at his GT success.





Whatever GT he does next, people better keep an eye on him on stages 9 and 20!

He's the anti Porte.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Same, aggressive in the mountains despite a weak team, and a strong time trial to back it up. What's not to like?

"I finish faster than anyone else."

Usually not that much of a turn on.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Especially with how his life just changed substantially.

Exactly. No more GT's this year. And let's allow someone to live in happiness in the now for a change. Stop and smell the roses kid.

 

[Lequack]

He can smell the roses when he's old. It's time to win races

 

[davebqvst]

Allan Peiper has confirmed that they reconned the TT course 3-4 times before the TDF. They were happy enough to not worry about previewing the course on the morning of the TT like others.

In this interview Allan Peiper also talks about their gearing choices which I found quite interesting: "As I said, I rode the course and I realised that a close ratio cassette was essential for the climb; but most cassettes have two or even three tooth jumps. However, we obtained a cassette meant for junior racing, 14-29 but in the middle it was 18 to 25 with just one tooth differences, that was coupled with 36/50 chainrings. On his time trial bike he rode a single 58 ring with an 11 to 29 cassette." They also practiced the bike switch a lot when they reconned the course.
Mikkel Bjerg also talked about how they set the road bike up similarly to the TT-bike (saddle position in relation to bottom bracket) so switching mid-stage wouldn't cause any problems.

Team UAE really making use of those marginal gains I guess.

 

[RedheadDane]

Team UAE really making use of those marginal gains I guess.

Indeed. They even had a guy, whose name literally translates to "Mountain" help with the reconning for a mountain ITT!
Coz that's obviously the reason, nothing to do with Bjerg's TTing skills. It's all about his name!

 

[Pantani_lives]

He's beginning to show signs of aging.

 

[tobydawq]

That ride wasn't too bright was it?

I think he screwed up a big chance of taking the title there.

Of course, it was nice to see somebody finally breaking the deadlock but when you have a chance to win in the deep finale, you don't go alone at that point.

 

[BlueRoads]

That ride wasn't too bright was it?

I think he screwed up a big chance of taking the title there.

Of course, it was nice to see somebody finally breaking the deadlock but when you have a chance to win in the deep finale, you don't go alone at that point.

Well, I guess he made himself more popular by this than by using Roglic as his dom... They just did not have the strongest team, this was their way to try something. The others who just waited for the "climber's race" to come did not succeed either. I am not sure he would have won a sprint against van Aert or Alaphilippe... And in the end I suppose he does not care much, having just won the Tour.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

An attack like he did today is quite often seen when a rider feels he have no chance to win and therefore attack early to try help his team mate in a way. Thor Hushovd called it directly on Norwegian TV, said it had to be that Pogacar felt bad and only wanna make the race harder to increase Roglics chances.