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Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

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Let me debunk the fatigue element that people here are talking about when mentioning Pog at the Vuelta.
If Pog decides to go to the Vuelta he would need to hit hard on 2-3 days and then control the race. His training efforts are harder than controlling a field with no Evenepoel, Vingegaard and an injured Roglic. The Vuelta ends on the 8th September and if he wins he won't need to do World's and Lombardia. He can go on a 3 month holiday. He will be completely fresh by Paris-Nice next year. He would have achieved the impossible and be the first in history. This would make him a legend.
Now the second choice: World's and Lombardia. He would probably start training gradually one or two weeks from now and in September he should be doing monster efforts to achieve a peak in form. He would need to keep that form until the 12th October - the date of Lombardia. So that gives him one month less of holiday compared to the Vuelta schedule. His season would be legendary but nothing compared to a Grand Tour Treble.
Sepp Kuss this year in the spring was performing on his usual level. I don't think it was Vuelta fatigue. You need to look at his previous seasons to see that. Him performing bad at the Dauphine was because he was sick.
The real reason they probably won't send Pog to the Vuelta is team politics. If Pog goes and doesn't give a chance to Almeida and Yates for their own glory there is a chance that next year they will soft pull for him and won't be as loyal. Mauro knows this, Pog knows this, Matxin knows this but they will play the Vuelta fatigue card to the viewers.
OTOH. If they set aside their personal ambitions, they can have opportunities next year. Pog rides the Tour and focuses on classics and one week stage races for just that calendar year. Honestly, they seem to be leaning that 2025 schedule from bits and pieces that I can find and glean, TBD.

Also, money talks. I don't think ASO gives out participation fees for the Tour, but maybe the Vuelta? Spread that around to the top lieutenants. UAE can do contract extensions and performance bonuses for cooperating. There are always work around for the team dynamics when legendary achievement opportunity presents itself.
 
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2 Tours is a lot in my opinion.
It is a lot, but so is the 6 monuments and everything else Pog won and Mig didn't in one-day racing. I think Pog's one-day race palmares make up for his deficit in GT as of this moment. This Tour has in my opinion tipped the balance in Pog's favour. But I'll admit objectively, it may not be that clear to everyone at the moment and I see we can agree if not this year, then in a very short while, we'll be able to claim unanimously Pog has surpassed Indurain on paper.
 
Two Tours and 1 Giro against 6 monuments and 2 Tour 2nds… I’d say Pog has better palamares. Not even taking into account the way they were achieved.
Im sure at this point someone is not quite sure what their watching if we go with Indurain at this point its not worth bothering, at that point were just making stuff up.

View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9rY5upyBcH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
 
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Literally off the charts.
 
It is a lot, but so is the 6 monuments and everything else Pog won and Mig didn't in one-day racing. I think Pog's one-day race palmares make up for his deficit in GT as of this moment. This Tour has in my opinion tipped the balance in Pog's favour. But I'll admit objectively, it may not be that clear to everyone at the moment and I see we can agree if not this year, then in a very short while, we'll be able to claim unanimously Pog has surpassed Indurain on paper.
When I said Indurain has a way better palmares compared to Pogi, I was talking about GT's. Pogi is still far from Indurain and if he wants to be the undisputed best rider of modern cycling, he needs a Vuelta or a couple GT's more.
Edit: Of course he is the best rider if we talk about charisma, panache, talent but he still needs a couple GT's. It is a matter of time, maybe next year, he will win Tour-Vuelta and this debate is over in my head.
 
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