Can't you be interested in the result history of the sport, and still not feel you need to go chase those results?
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Can't you be interested in the result history of the sport, and still not feel you need to go chase those results?
Sure, but what if you are one of the few that can actually do it? Would you just let it be, or would you like to join the ranks, see yourself as a true peer of the greats? Why be indifferent about it when you are already interested? It's not often one get's the chance to write oneself into history, even if it's just the one of a sport.
He could very well do it simply by riding the races he thinks could be fun.
It just seems like such a silly thing to concern yourself with; "OMG... I have to win these particular races because this other guy, who retired almost 50 years ago, won them."
Just in case it wasn't clear; my post was praise of Pogacar. He's above such silliness.
Could you please stop referring to history as silliness? It's really lame even if you have no interest in it.
I'm not calling history silly.
I'm calling the idea of basing your entire race programme around getting the same palmares as some other guy silly.
Pogacar should just race whatever races he wants, and if he equals Merckx; cool.
If he doesn't; cool.
Well I am not sure if these things cannot be achieved at the same time. I don't think he's interested in a replica of anyones Palmares, but in one that reflects as much of the important races as possible. I think he said e.g. that he wanted to win all of the big one week races as well.
Maybe I was to inattentive of the preceding discussion, but I meant it more in this kind of way. That doesn't mean he has to chase anyone's results really, but to make his own great thing.
But it's still a competitive sport, so records have their own merit, and I can imagine he enjoys holding some of them.
He has said he wants to be the greatest rider of all time, so it seems obvious that he would want to beat Merckx in a lot of aspects. That probably includes winning many of the same races he did. And since that also means riding a varied calendar with a lot of big races, I really don't see what the fuss is about.
I think it makes sense to ride PR the first time without any special prep for it. Train as he normally would for the spring classics, and then see how far that takes him in Roubaix. I can see him do a MvdP'ish spring schedule next year, just 6 race days: Strade, Sanremo, E3, Ronde, Roubaix, Liège. Then focus on the Tour.
And it just always came across to me as him wanting to win all the big races was because he thought it could be, you know, fun!
Roubaix or not, as long as he doesn't win the 6th monument Scheldeprijs it'll be hard to consider him the GOAT. I think he knows that (also because Merckx also has it on his palmares) and already started mixing it up with the sprinters at the Tour. Maybe Politt can forward him Kittels number in order to learn from the master.
Before this year I would agree with you, just race PR with similar condition/weight to Flandres. This should be enough to be in contention for top places IMO. But this year he had a different preparation, focused more on stage racing. My current thinking is that they won't let Pogi weight 67 kg in April (like it used to be in the previous two years) and will stick to this year's recipe, which brought them GT double won in a great fashion (and which is obviously more fitted to the Tour). So Strade, San Remo, Liege and some one-week race in the spring. Maybe another double attempt (Tour + Vuelta?). Obviously I'd love to see him in PR but my hopes for it in the next couple of years are much lower now than before.
Why not race the cobbled classics with his stage race weight then? With the insane wattage he can push, he'd still stand a chance. Surely the form he had in Strade and Liège this year was good enough to at least podium Ronde.
Well, he can actually. It's also a matter of how much difference those missing 2 kilos or so can make. I have no idea, esp. in PR.
I've seen or heard a comment from a pro (Sean Kelly?) where his weight doesn't matter so much as the wattage generated over a long period of time.
Pogacar is better than ever. I think he will race Flanders next year. He just love that race!
Weight matters a lot on uneven surfaces. The lighter rider loses a lot of forward energy due to vertical movement (bouncing). (Vingo during the gravel stage of the TDF). Same reason why lower tire pressures are faster=less bouncing. Also, if you are bouncing a lot, it is more difficult to position your bike. This is why the conventional wisdom is that Pogi needs to gain some weight to have a chance at PR.
Stabiilzation by larger mass makes sense - it enables the rider to utilize his power more efficiently. As for Vingo, I think the reason there was something else - too thick layer of sand, requiring a lot of power to keep going.
I think Pogacar can be competitive in Flanders with 2024 weight. What is more impressive about him is how strong is his explosiveness without hurting his endurance. The harder a race gets, the stronger Pogacar become. His endurance is off charts and for that reason I would like to see a good old mountain stage with a lot of climbing during 220 km
Flandres, undoubtedly. His w/kg and endurance are great. His explosivity might by a bit weaker but still very good. PR is another beast though with no hills to feed his huge w/kg engine. His lower mass can affect him there but another (maybe bigger) problem is that he'll be heavily marked by other riders (no accidental solo win possible) and his chief rivals (MVP an WVA) are normally faster at the finish.
RvV is literally lighter is better for big engines.
And if Pidcock can top 20 Roubaix then Pog is easily top 3
I think this need to be heavier to go well on cobbles/gravel is outdated nonsense based on reinforcement of preconceptions as largely only those heavier riders focus on the cobbles so it becomes viewed that they are the best suited to them.
You only have to look at the gravel stage and ignore Pogacar because he is an exceptional outlier in all areas and look at the flyweight Vingegaard who was easily among the 10 strongest in the race that day on the sectors.
On a super aggressively raced Strade Bianchi with Pogi lighting it up on the Santa Maria climb I would genuinely give Jonas a bigger chance of staying close to him than Van Aert nowadays.
You only have to look at the gravel stage and ignore Pogacar because he is an exceptional outlier in all areas and look at the flyweight Vingegaard who was easily among the 10 strongest in the race that day on the sectors.
On a super aggressively raced Strade Bianchi with Pogi lighting it up on the Santa Maria climb I would genuinely give Jonas a bigger chance of staying close to him than Van Aert nowadays.
Pogacar future is to become cycling's equivalent of Ronaldo? He believes himself larger then the national team , trying to dictate who will be given the right to compete in the Olympics RR for woman. His employer lacks respect for democracy and human right and the funding is purely based on an industry that will change the climate and in a few decades destroy the cycling. He seems to developed a very grandiose self image where he is obsessed with the concept of being the goat and publishing pictures of himself flexing his muscles.
???
Poor analogy TBH.
Maybe the federation shouldn't be stupid. That would help.
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